The Silver Trio
by ThereIsSuchAThingAsLove. x
Summary: Rose and Albus are just as famous as their parents. Scorpius is just as famous – but for the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?
1. First Year: Rose, Albus and Scorpius

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

AN: _Re-editing and posting all my stories once again with slight modifications. I always find when I read back my stories that I'm unhappy with what I wrote 2/3 years ago. Below, is an explanation to why it's been so long since I last updated on thi__s site._

_I would love to reply to all the reviews I've received in the past 2/3 years since I've updated but I have a feeling it would be a chapter within itself! So firstly I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who's taken the time to review anything I've ever written._

_I'd like to apologise for not updated in so long, it's a bit ridiculous how long actually. It's easier to start at the beginning: 2/3 years ago I was diagnosed with something which changed my life, and I kept meaning to return, but with everything going on in my life it was really hard and I just wanted to focus on myself for a while. And even though my life will be very very busy over the next year (applying to universities is so hard!), I will gradually be starting to update all my fanfictions again because I do miss writing and I still have so many ideas and plots written out. Hopefully you can all support this decision and be patient with me! _

Sorting Hat is in _italic_.

Albus thinking to the Sorting Hat is in **bold**.

**Chapter One: Rose, Scorpius and Albus**

(Rose POV)

"So that's little Scorpius," Dad said under his breath as we stared over at another family on the platform. The Malfoys. A small family compared to the size of the Weasley brood: an older blonde man, a petite brunette woman and a blonde boy who looked about my age. Our supposed sworn enemies. Not that I cared for all that stuff. Scorpius Malfoy looked… interesting.

"Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains," Dad continued, a smile growing on his face. "Ron, for heaven's sake," Mum said sternly, though I could tell by the way the corners of her mouth were quivering slightly that she was on the verge of giggles. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," Dad said, holding his hands up in supposed surrender as he grinned at me. "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie," he couldn't help but add, winking at me. "Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."

I flushed, but all attention was taken off me as James ran towards us, yelling and waving his hands around, yelling about our eldest cousin Victoire and Teddy, and how he'd caught them snogging. I saw Albus grin at me from behind his father, and I rolled my eyes in response; I'd told him _ages_ ago about how Victoire and Teddy were obviously secretly dating, trust James, his idiotic older brother, to be late on the update.

I turned one last time to look at the Malfoy boy. He was just about the palest person I'd ever seen, and that was including Uncle Harry and Albus, his skin was a chalk-white, as if he'd never caught a glimpse of sunshine and spent all his time indoors. He was quite small for our age, just a bit taller than me, which meant he was about 5'1. He had platinum blonde hair, like his father; but his wasn't gelled back, leaving it all soft and floppy.

Our eyes met, and I grinned, making him blush and turn around. I was used to people blushing, I was a Weasley after all and had inherited that blasted blush myself, but something about adding a pink tinge to Scorpius Malfoy's pale skin made me feel all tingly inside.

Especially because it had been me that had caused him to blush.

(Scorpius POV)

I sat in the compartment by myself, reading quietly. Dad had been wrong. He'd claimed I would have many friends – all of the children of his friends, and more. But Aria Zabini was nothing like me. She was loud and popular, and already surrounded by friends. Her brother Jono was already a seventh year Prefect, I'd seen him patrolling the train as I'd gotten on. And Luther Goyle was hardly my type of friend. Though his looks didn't give that impression, he was tough and just… scary. Plus, he also happened to be a third year, so like Jono, there was very little chance I'd end up being friends with either of them.

So I'd found my own apartment. No one wanted to sit next to me, sneering at me once they'd recognized me as the son of Draco Malfoy. I wasn't in the mood to be judged for mistakes my father had made in the past, so I'd decided to sit by myself.

"Haha, James is such a freak! God, you told me about Ted and Tori ages ago!"

I looked up as the boy my father had pointed out as Albus Potter burst into my compartment, laughing merrily. But he stopped abruptly when he caught sight of me and glared at me with his bright green eyes.

"Al!" someone behind Potter squeaked. "Why have you stopped?"

A head bobbed up from behind Potter's shoulder, and I recognised the pretty girl my father had pointed out on the platform. Rose Weasley. She looked even prettier up close. Her hair was curly and a dazzling red, much darker than the other Weasleys' hair. Her eyes were big and golden-brown, and she had the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen. She had clear porcelain skin, with only the lightest of freckles dusting her cute little nose and apples of her cheeks.

She rolled her big brown eyes and punched Potter's shoulder. "Honestly, Al," she sighed, moving to his side so she was visible. She lowered her voice, in an attempt so I couldn't hear what she was saying, but Rose Weasley did not have the ability to whisper. "You're so bloody prejudiced! Didn't you hear what mum said today? And what she's said all those times before? Scorpius may not be his parents. You shouldn't judge him for what they've done."

I smiled up at her gratefully. She seemed to like me smiling at her and grinned back, sitting down next to me, her brown eyes twinkling happily. "Macbeth, huh? One of my favourite pieces of Muggle literature. William Shakespeare was such a compelling writer. Mummy and Daddy took me to England for my last birthday and I was lucky enough to see one of his plays acted out. Midsummer's Night Dream… have you read it?"

"Um… yeah, I have. I love Shakespeare too. I wish I could read more of his work. Macbeth and Midsummer's Night Dream are the only ones I've read. My grandfather doesn't approve anything to do with Muggles, so my mum bought me to Muggle London for a day, so I could buy them," I replied. I breathed in, inhaling air through my nose. That was the longest I'd ever spoken. Ever.

Potter smirked as he saw me fidgeting uncomfortably. While Rose had been speaking, he'd plonked himself into the seat opposite us. His smirk got wider as I stopped talking and there was an awkward silence. "So…" I said, hoping to get a conversation started again. This whole concept of making friends was new to me, after spending eleven years in solidarity. "What houses do you wanna be in?"

Potter scoffed, and pushed back his jet-black hair with his hand. "Gryffindor, of course. Dad was in there, Mum was in there, and all the Weasleys go to Gryffindor. Our cousins are in there too… plus, all the hot chicks go to Gryffindor." He waggled his eyebrows and Rose hit him, properly this time.

"Albus Severus Potter!" she said sharply (I made a mental note of his name, it was nearly as bad as Scorpius). She waved her arms about animatedly as she talked, and I felt the corners of my mouth instinctively twitch upwards into a smile at the sight of it. "Your looks do not determine what house you end up in!"

I turned to her, raising an eyebrow and pushing my glasses further up my nose. I couldn't stand my glasses, and I only ever wore them when I was reading because I was worried about looking geeky. Only, for some reason, I didn't mind wearing them in front of her. "I take it you don't want to be a Gryffindor then?' Rose cocked her head to one side, pursing her pink lips slightly, and I could tell she was thinking it through thoroughly.

"Well… I wouldn't mind any house to be honest. On one hand I want to be a Gryffindor, and make Mum and Dad and all my cousins and family proud. But I also want to be different… maybe be in another house?" She stopped as Potter scoffed, and shot him an annoyed look, folding her arms across her chest. "But really, I just want to go to Hogwarts and start lessons! I can't wait!" She raised her eyebrow and asked, "What house do you want to be in, Scorpius?"

"Slytherin, I bet," Potter said, cutting in before I'd even opened my mouth. "Off to slum in the Slytherin Dungeons and be a Death Eater like Daddy." Rose's look instantly turned venomous and she opened her mouth to retort, but to my own surprise, I'd beat her to it, tired of the youngest Potter boy. His father may have saved the Wizarding World, but that was no excuse for him to act like an arse.

"Whatever house the Sorting Hat decides, it will be for my personality – not my name or family history."

Rose blinked in astonishment, and Potter looked like he'd lost any ability to speak at all, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Rose nodded her head, so her red curls bounced and beamed at me proudly. "He's _right_. Scorpius, you are absolutely right. Albus, that was way out of line, and if I were Scorpius, I would have yelled at you and hexed you until you begged for mercy."

I nudged her side softly. "I'd better not get on your bad side, huh, Weasley?"

She nudged me back, a playful look in her brown eyes. "Very smart, Malfoy. You catch on fast."

(Albus POV)

I stood in the line to be sorted, folding my arms across my chest. Malfoy stood in front of me, fidgeting nervously. Great.

Rose wanted to be the pale freak's friend, which is weird, but not my problem. As long as she didn't start thinking I was going to be his friend just because she wanted to be, completely going against what her father had told her on the platform. _Honestly_. Me and Rose (or Rose and I, as she'd correct me) have been inseparable best friends for years and years. I'm only two months older than her, the smallest age gap between any of the Weasley cousins (apart from Fred and Roxy), a sure explanation for why the two of us have practically been joined at the hip since birth.

But then we walk into Malfoy's compartment, and she expects us to be all friendly with the enemy, just because he has no friends of his own. Typical kind-hearted Rose, wanting to make friends with everyone and make sure everyone's happy. I hate her and love her for it at the same time.

I couldn't help but turn around and look at her. Poor girl. It's typical that someone as eager to be sorted as Rose is nearly the last person in line. She probably is cursing the Weasley surname right now.

But to be fair, she wasn't as bad as I'd thought she would be. She was tapping her foot impatiently, looking down and twirling some of her red hair around her finger, but I'd thought there would be nail biting and a full on tantrum (granted, we were younger when she did those, she hasn't bitten a nail since we were five).

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

Whispers of shock and horror echoed through the Great Hall as the son of one of the most prominent Death Eaters' name was called out. I saw James, Fred and Louis nudge each other over at the Gryffindor table, heads snapping up attentively. Lucy looked like she was going to nibble her lip off, whilst Roxy (nearly as feisty as Rose) was glaring in his direction. Even Dominique's lips were pursed, while her older sister Victoire just looked nervous. Similar reactions were mirrored throughout the Great Hall.

But at the Slytherin table, it was the complete opposite. There were cheers and catcalls and whoops. I saw the Slytherin prefects grin at one another. There was a fat boy, who looked a bit older than James, smiling broadly. Three girls in James' year batted their eyelashes and waved at him, while the Prefects muttered amongst themselves, not taking their eyes off the boy.

I rolled my eyes as Malfoy walked onto the platform, shaking nervously. What was the big deal about Malfoy? Sure, his father and grandfather were Death Eaters, so what? My dad saved the world (along with Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron), and my mum had helped restart Dumbledore's Army. I was twice as good as him; my parents were at least famous for the right reasons. The pale, wimpy, skinny boy (did I mention he was pale, skinny and wore glasses?) hardly compared to me, Albus Potter (aka Greek God).

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherins began cheering, but the other houses exchanged fearful looks, obviously worried history would repeat itself with a Malfoy in Hogwarts. I could see my cousins with faces of thunder (minus Tori, the bloody saint, who just looked a bit anxious).

I turned around, and smirked at Rose. _I told you so_, I mouthed at her. She rolled her eyes and clapped anyway, smiling over at the Slytherin table. It seemed I wasn't the only one who'd noticed this. Roxy raised her eyebrows in surprise. Victoire now looked like she was going to faint, while Dominique almost fell off the bench she was sat on. James, Fred and Louis looked set to explode. And everyone in the Great Hall were nudging and whispering, their attention now on my petite cousin.

Barely anyone paid attention as "Page, Victoria" was sorted into "Ravenclaw!" The poor girl. Maybe, in our later years, I would bring it up in an attempt to flirt/talk with the pretty Muggleborn, when her pageboy haircut grew out. Maybe she'd be a bit more attractive then.

"Potter, Albus."

"About bloody time!" Fred yelled out, clapping his hands and hooting.

"Go Albus!" Louis cheered, grinning and pumping his fist in the air.

"That's my baby brother!" James shouted, stomping his feet.

"POTTER, POTTER, POTTER!"

"SILENCE!" Professor McGonagall screeched, motioning for me to sit down as she glared over at my three relatives, who simultaneously stopped cheering. I grinned over at them, before lowering myself onto the stool, a smirk on my face.

_So, you're Albus. The second Potter child. You're rather different from your cousins and brother._

**What do you mean?**

_I mean you're cocky. Very cocky._

**James, Louis and Fred are cocky! Plus, I have a reason to be cocky. Unlike Malfoy.**

_You dislike the Malfoy boy? Why?_

**He's a MALFOY.**

_So? He seems to be very fond of your cousin Rose._

**Ew.**

_I think it's sweet._

**Maybe when you were first made.**

_That's very rude._

**I know.**

_You're very confident._

**Yes**.

_And cunning._

**How?**

_You're going to try and stop Scorpius being friends with Rose._

**How did you –**

_Definitely not Ravenclaw then. I can read your thoughts, braniac._

**I sense sarcasm.**

_Maybe you aren't so stupid._

**I'm not!**

_Why would you want to stop Scorpius being friends with Rose. That's horrible._

**Can you just put me in Gryffindor already? I know you will – all Weasleys and Potters are Gryffindors, and have been for centuries.**

_You don't have the right potential._

**How dare you! What do you mean?**

_You're rather eager to impress. But you're cocky, confident and cunning. Those traits will put you into…_

**Wait, what are you doing?**

"…SLYTHERIN!"

For the first time during the whole Sorting, there was complete and utter silence in the Great Hall. I'd never seen so many people's mouths drop open at once. I'd never seen Fred speechless. I'd never seen Louis not smiling. And I'd never seen James staring at me with disbelief in his eyes; no matter how much he teased me about potentially being in Slytherin, it was clear he didn't actually think I was going to be sorted into the house of Dark witches and wizards.

Professor Longbottom put a hand on my shoulder, and I took this as my cue to begin the walk over to the Slytherin table. I couldn't believe it. Apparently, neither could my brain. My legs were close to buckling beneath me, as if my mind and body were slowly shutting down. I felt my cheeks heating up, and tears welling up in my eyes as my footsteps echoed through the hall, everyone's eyes on me. I couldn't even bear to look up, bile rising in my throat; how was I supposed to write home and announce I was in Slytherin? How? It was when I sat down gingerly on the Slytherin bench that all hell broke loose.

"RE-TAKE!"  
"HE CAN'T BE IN SLYTHERIN!"

"NO WAY!"

"HE'S A GRYFFINDOR, THROUGH AND THROUGH!"

"HE'S A POTTER, HE DOESN'T BELONG THERE!"

"DO IT AGAIN!"  
"IT'S A MISTAKE!"

"SILENCE!" Professor McGonagall screeched for the second time. But even she looked shocked, her hands shaking. She wasn't the only one, some of these people had been in my life since birth and they were staring at me like I'd suddenly turned into a centaur. Hagrid stared at me in disbelief, his beetle-black eyes widened in shock. Professor Longbottom, my godfather – Uncle Neville, who had given me my first Remembrall, looked scared of me.

I didn't pay attention to any other sortings. I sat at the Slytherin table, fists clenched and shaking with suppressed feeling. My heart was beating quickly and I had to occasionally pinch myself hard to stop myself crying, turning away from Malfoy, sat next to me, because I didn't want him to see me as a weak link. It was only when I heard "Weasley, Rose" that my head snapped up attentively.

Rose was going to be a Gryffindor. She was fiery, wild, brave… and extremely loyal. I could see everyone, all my family, friends and everyone else in the Great Hall, nodding their heads and mouthing 'Gryffindor' to one another. She had all the characteristics of a generic Weasley, and so many more.

She wasn't going to be in the same house as me. All the vows we'd promised to one another were for nothing, about sticking together for the next seven years. The second the hat touched her head, it would yell 'Gryffindor', and the second it did would be the end of my close bond with my favourite cousin and person in the entire world.

But to my surprise, it didn't. Rose sat there for about ten minutes and by the way she was sitting, I could see her hands waving around animatedly, they way they always did when she was having an in-depth conversation, and you could see a big smile on the bottom half of her face.

My cousins and friends over at the Gryffindor table looked worried. They'd thought Rose and I would join the rest of the family. Everyone had assumed that the second the Sorting Hat hovered over her head that she'd be sorted into Gryffindor, and had hoped the same for me. But I hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor. I'd broken tradition. And Rose… well, it didn't look like it was going to be good or bad at the moment. As long as it wasn't –

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was another silence in the Great Hall. But unlike me, Rose seemed… happy at the choice that had been made. She beamed, took the hat off her head and skipped down to sit next to Malfoy and me. I mean, I.


	2. First Year: Officially Becoming a Snake

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

**Chapter Two: Officially Becoming A Snake**

(Scorpius POV)

Rose, Potter and I were sitting in the Slytherin Common Room, in the same spot we'd sat in every day for the past week. Rose seemed to want to be friends with both Potter and I, I could tell that by the way she always insisted on hanging about and waiting for both of us after lessons and mealtimes. But I could tell that Albus Potter certainly did _not_ want to become my friend any time soon.

"Oi – Weasley, Malfoy, Potter!"

We all turned in the direction the voice had come from, the entrance to the common room. There stood the male Slytherin prefects and one fourth year. Jono Zabini, our seventh year prefect; Scott Bulstrode-Davies, our sixth year prefect; Parker Parkinson-Goldstein, our fifth year prefect and Leo Rowle, who seemed to be part of their 'crew'.

We didn't know much about them, despite being Slytherins for about a week now, Potter and I tended to keep to ourselves while Weasley engaged in polite conversation with the older Slytherins in the common room and at the dinner table. All I knew was that my father and Jono's had been friends for years, and that his little sister Aria, to everyone's surprise, had been sorted into Ravenclaw, meaning Rose, Potter and I were the only Slytherins this year. Jono was also captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, the star of the team, as the Seeker. I hadn't seen him play yet, but judging by the rumours I'd heard, he was the best Seeker our house had had in years. Scott and Parker also played on the Quidditch team as Chasers, and stocky Leo was a Beater, and supposedly a ruthless one at that.

Rose politely stood up from her armchair, so Jono could sit down. I could see the surprise on his face, as he tried to assess whether or not there was ambition in her eyes, typical Slytherin behaviour, but as he nodded at her thankfully and she sat cross-legged on the carpet. Scott and Parker sat next to her, though a deal less graceful in their movement, and Leo leaned against my chair, his arms folded across his chest.

"So, here's the deal, firsties," Jono drawled, a typical Slytherin smirk evident on his face as he leaned back into the armchair. "The thing is… we've got a tradition here..."

I expected Potter to have a comeback. Something about how he'd never heard of any tradition. All he'd done the past few days was snort and laugh at everything I'd said about Slytherin tradition. Either that or argue against it. It really seemed to make Rose upset, so I left it and hadn't turned on him to start a fight.

But Potter didn't say anything. Because he too was scared of these older Slytherins. Older Gryffindors he was fine with, most of them were his cousins. The older Ravenclaws were dignified, but approachable. The older Hufflepuffs were simply kind and welcoming.

But everyone knows not to approach older Slytherins unless you yourself are their age and/or in Slytherin house (and even most of us younger ones are scared of them). Because older Slytherins have a reputation for being mean, spiteful, rude, cunning, cruel… and the list goes on, and on, and on, and on.

"Um… what is this tradition?" Rose bravely piped up, sitting up straight and cocking her head to one side absent-mindedly. "I've never heard of it. Is it just a Slytherin thing?" If Potter or I had the guts to say that, the older Slytherins would have beat us up, but because Rose is petite and pretty, Jono and his crew simply nodded at her.

"It's like an initiation, y'see?" Parker continued, looking at me straight at me. "You ain't an official member of Slytherin 'til you do it. We all did. No exceptions. Even if your ol' man's a famous member, or your family's been in it for generations." Those comments were definitely aimed at me then.

"What do we have to do?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow and frowning slightly. She was never one for hiding her feelings, Rose wore her heart on her sleeve and her eyes gave away her every emotion."Do we have to do something dangerous or stupid? I want to be an official part of Slytherin, but I'm not going to do something like run around Hogwarts naked or something."

The eldest two boys seemed to find that hilarious and practically wet themselves with laughter. "Nah, Weasley," Jono said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "You don't do that." His grin got wider as Rose relaxed, and couldn't help but wink at her. "Not until after your OWLS."

Rose's mouth fell open and her golden-brown eyes widened, looking completely horrified. Potter looked disturbed and worried at the same time, fidgeting anxiously in his chair. "Do we have to do that? Really? You're serious?"

Jono nodded, his lips curling into a smirk. "Oh yes, oh yes. Only the girls though. It's always very interesting. The guys have to do something completely different though. I wasn't told that. I got all excited and spent my holidays in the gym." I was about to ask what the boys had to do, when Scott spoke up, running a hand through his brown hair.

"Jono, man. Can you just tell them?" he groaned, pulling a face at him and sighing heavily as he looked at his watch. As Jono and the other older boys raised their eyebrows, his cheeks flushed slightly. "I've got a study date with Penelope Parsons in fifteen minutes. And I ain't missing a date with Penelope Parsons."

All the other guys rolled their eyes, particularly Parker, who, being in her year, knew the girl well. Penelope Parsons was a brunette fifth-year Ravenclaw who was supposedly really kind, but apparently went out with anything with a pulse. And let's just say she didn't have a particularly reserved reputation either.

"Wouldn't you rather stay here for longer, Scotty boy?" Leo chuckled, running a hand through his dark hair. "She might not be willing to take you to her room for a bit of private time after, but Weasley's must prettier than Parsons." I watched as he winked at her, making Rose's cheeks flush. I fought the urge to get in a fight with the brawnier, older boy. Couldn't he get girls in his own year and lay off my friend?

As Scott grunted, Leo sighed. "Basically, guys, you've got to 'get' one of the older years. You know what I mean. Prank 'em, or even just embarrass them in front of the whole school. Older, and preferably a Gryffindor, though any house is good. You got that?" I pursed my lips. This was bad. This was very, very, very bad. We couldn't prank an older kid. We'd get killed. Especially if they were Gryffindor.

Potter seemed to share my opinion, but unlike me, he sat up straight and looked petrified as he babbled, "Not Gryffindor! Half our family are in there! What will they say? What will they do, I mean –"

"We'll do it."

Both Potter and I turned to Rose, who'd answered on behalf of us. For the first time since we'd been at Hogwarts, Potter and I actually agreed on something – his cousin was crazy. What was Rose thinking? The older boys looked just surprised, exchanging confused looks. "Tomorrow, yeah?" Leo said, standing up and turning to go outside. "At breakfast?" Rose simply nodded and the older boys strode out, shaking their heads in apparent disbelief.

The second the portrait door slammed shut, Potter stood up and turned to his cousin, who was getting up off the ground and dusting herself off. "What the hell was that, Rose? What the hell? What the hell have you gotten us into? Our cousins are gonna bloody kill us they are! They'll spew all that crap about blood being thicker than water or something like that! And even if we don't get them, an older student's gonna know way more spells than us! We'll be send to the Hospital Wing before we can say 'Hogwarts'! What are we gonna do?"

I nodded in agreement. I hated him, but I wasn't going to disagree with him at a time like this. I was pretty sure she belonged in Gryffindor with thoughtless bravery like this, maybe the Sorting Hat had been wrong about one of the Weasley descendents this year. Rose rolled her eyes and grinned at us, her brown eyes sparkling. "I haven't gotten us into anything. Listen, I've got a plan… just trust me on this one."

We sat at the Slytherin table the next day, eating our breakfast. Potter and I were jumpy and nervous as we nibbled at our slices of bread and drank our pumpkin juice, not talking at all, just flinching whenever an older student walked into the Great Hall. But Rose was completely calm and casual, as if it were any other day. The only sign that she was up to something was the twinkle in her golden brown eyes, apart from that she seemed perfectly composed and her appearance was immaculate; she looked every bit the perfect Hogwarts student, as did her mother. She twirled her wand around in her left hand and ate her toast with her right.

Even when Leo and a bleary-eyed Jono sat down with us (the other two were nursing hangovers from the previous night – Slytherins party like wild animals), she stayed the same. She smiled at them and continued eating her breakfast, even getting a bowl of porridge. That girl may look petite, but she had the appetite of a werewolf.

When Potter No.1 (James, Albus' brother) entered with Fred and Louis Weasley, Rose flipped her wand so it was facing towards them. They hadn't even looked over at the Slytherin table yet, they were probably talking about the next prank they were yet to pull. I gulped nervously, seeing Albus tense across from me at the table. As they began walking closer, Leo yelled, "NOW!"

That was when Rose pointed her wand in Leo's direction, declaring, "Aguamenti!"

Gasps ran through the Great Hall, and once again, silence fell. People looked like they were thinking about laughing and getting killed or attempting to laugh inwardly, whilst most of the Slytherins looked horrified or shell-shocked. Most people were doing the second.

"WHAT THE HELL, WEASLEY?" Rowle barked, wiping his face with the green tablecloth in front of him. His brown eyes were narrowed angrily and his hands were clenched into fists. "DID YOU NOT LISTEN TO WHAT I SAID YESTERDAY? I SAID TO GET YOUR STUPID COUSINS! EITHER YOU HAVE TERRIBLE AIM OR A DEATH WISH! WHICH ONE IS IT?"

Rose cocked her head to one side, raised an eyebrow and smirked. She bloody well smirked . How could she be smirking at a time like this? He was going to kill her! "Didn't you say I had to 'get' an older year, Leo?" she said, her voice clear as crystal and ringing through the Great Hall as her eyes sparkled cheekily. "Aren't you an older year?"

Everyone visibly flinched, including us at the Slytherin table. But to everyone's surprise, Jono threw back his head and began laughing. We all watching in awe as Jono Zabini, one of the scariest, unapproachable boys in school, threw back his head and held his sides as he began laughing hysterically. Seconds later, Leo Rowle began laughing too, throwing his head back and roaring. Soon after, the entire Slytherin table were in hysterics, followed by the rest of the Great Hall. Over at the Gryffindor table, I could see Rose's cousins hooting and applauding her and even McGonagall and a few of the other teachers seemed to have a twinkle in their eyes.

"You're alright, y'know that, Weasley? Not how I expected you to be. Maybe you did get sorted into the right house, " Jono chuckled, smiling fondly at her. He turned to me, next to her, and Potter, across the table and nudged Leo, who cleared his throat, before grinning at us himself. "You three are official Slytherins. On one condition… never do that to me again."

Rose grinned cheekily and winked at him, as he'd winked at her the previous day. "Sorry, Leo, I can't promise that," she giggled. "You know that Slytherin cunning." Everyone couldn't contain their laughter this time, especially as Leo grabbed a strand of Rose's hair and pulled it jokingly.

After breakfast, we were walking back to the Slytherin common room and I stopped in my tracks, turning to Rose. "That was really brave of you, Rose," I said, shaking my head in disbelief at the stunt she'd managed to pull off. "You outsmarted Leo and his crew, and Potter and I got our Slytherin places, without earning them. Thank you."

My redheaded friend shrugged it off, smiling modestly at me, her cheeks going scarlet at the praise. To my surprise, her cousin nodded, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. "No, Rose. Malfoy's right. Thank you. You really saved us back there, pulling a stunt like that. With brains like that, there's no wonder you're a Slytherin."

Happy we were agreeing for the first time all week, Rose's smile got bigger. "Now that that's over, can the two of you try to be friends? It's not that hard, you may not have a lot in common, but I like you both and wish you liked each other. I don't want to choose between you both. I want the three of us to be best friends, like Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry. Only in Slytherin."

I nodded and smiled. "Anything for you."  
Pott – Albus put his arms around our shoulders and beamed, declaring, "Of course, Rose."


	3. First Year: Halloween and Slughorn

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me.**

**Chapter Three: Halloween and Meeting Professor Slughorn**

* * *

(Rose POV)

"That certainly is a wonderful potion, Miss Weasley!" Professor Slughorn said as he peered into my cauldron, in which I'd been brewing a Forgetfulness Potion. He beamed at me as I stirred it anti-clockwise five times and waved my wand over it, completing the process. "You've certainly inherited your mother's Potions skills, haven't you? Your father was alright too, I suppose. His skills were in Quidditch. _Wonderful_ Keeper, Ronald Weasley. And very brave, though when he was a student, his Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers did not have a lot of praise for him!"

As he turned and looked into Albus' cauldron, nodding happily, I caught Scorpius' eye and saw her trying not to giggle aloud, in the fear of offending him. I had warned him about Slughorn our first lesson, after Mum had; the man was wise and educated in his subject, but was a big fan of getting on the good side of pupils who were more well-known and successful in the Wizarding World. On our way to our first lesson, Victoire had stopped to tell us about _her_ first lesson, in which Slughorn had been so happy about having a Weasley child in his class that he'd postponed the lesson and had gone to list all the cousins and his excitement at their arrival at Hogwarts.

"And you are also very good, Mr Potter! Not as good as your father, of course. He was the second-best student I've ever had. Second to your grandmother, Lily. Your father certainly is a very talented man, isn't he? Very talented, smart, excellent Seeker – and he saved the world! Wonderful man, Harry is! And your mother, Ginerva! She played for the Harpies! My second student to have done so!"

He walked over to Scorpius' cauldron and his face lit up for the third time. "You too, Mr Malfoy! You are very skilled! Much more so than your father, though I did have them in their harder NEWT years, so we shall see. How is Draco now? When I arrived, he was going through a very troubled time. I thought he was just rude, but you know, I would be petrified if I was placed in the same position, and I probably would have done the same! And he turned himself around, didn't he! Respectable man in the Ministry now, Draco Malfoy!"

He didn't give Scorpius time to reply, as he put his arms around all three of us, squishing us together. "I think I have found my prized students! All wonderfully talented, and all Slytherins! Wonderful, wonderful!" he cried, letting us go and clapping his chubby hands eagerly. He looked us up and down, as if analyzing us all.

"You all look like your parents. Very much. Miss Weasley, you could be Hermione's sister, if it wasn't for your hair colour! Mr Potter, if you had the scar and glasses, you would be identical to your father! And Mr Malfoy, you look very much like your father, only with glasses! Except, as I remember, he used to gel his hair back. I like your hair much more, much more!"

I caught Scorpius' eye, and saw he was trying very hard not to laugh once again, though he let out a chuckle. Albus was biting his cheeks as Professor Slughorn began discussing and comparing our hair to our parents'. And me? I was torn between laughing and thanking him. I love being compared to my mum. I think she's such a beautiful, intelligent, brave person – it's an honour to be compared to her. And my dad – brave, skilled at Quidditch and loyal. Seriously, who wouldn't want to have those qualities? Still, there was a reason I was sorted into Slytherin; there were ways I wasn't like my parents, and I hoped to make a name for myself in ways other than for who my parents were.

"You will be part of my club, yes? We get together, once a fortnight, and eat supper and talk. It is very fun. Harry and Hermione were members themselves, dubbed it the 'Slug Club'. I did ask Ronald after the Second Wizarding War, but he didn't come back to Hogwarts afterwards, and neither did Harry, understandably. And dear Hermione wanted to focus on her studies; it was her NEWT year after all, and she'd spent so much time away from Hogwarts –"

"We'd love to be part of your club, Professor Slughorn, thank you for asking us," I replied politely, wanting to cut him off before he continued talking about my Mum. I could see the Gryffindors listening, and didn't want people asking more questions. Al's eyes widened as I answered for him once again and Scorpius let out a snort of laughter, which he quickly disguised into a cough. Satisfied with our answer, Slughorn dismissed us, humming a Weird Sisters song to himself as he cleared up the classroom.

"Rose, you love getting us into things without consulting us, don't you?" Scorpius laughed, as we walking out of Potions. I swung my bag at him, and then put it on my shoulder, laughing at him. "Scor, c'mon. It's a way to suck up to our Head of House. And it's a way of getting nice food and a bit of gossip. It also ends after hours, and it's not like I fancy lying in the dormitory by myself, this is a nice break from that every two weeks."

"Why would you want to suck up to Slughorn anyway, Rose?" Scorpius asked, lightly punching my shoulder, before hugging me apologetically, worried he'd hurt me. Once he saw I was fine, he laughed and nudged me. "All teachers love you. Especially ol' Slughorn. He'd adopt you if he could, Ron and Hermione Weasley had better watch out, he might kidnap you if he gets to that point of desperation."

Albus laughed loudly, as we turned to go to our common room. "You obviously haven't known Rose for long enough, Scorpius. She's a right ol' troublemaker, and it's good she manages to get the teachers wrapped around her little finger! You'll see. She'll get us out of a load of situations, but she'll land us in a fair few with the stunts she pulls!"

* * *

"What are you guys going as for the ball tonight, guys?" Victoria Page, a first-year Ravenclaw turned around to ask Scorpius and I as we jotted down the notes that Professor Monroe, our Transfiguration teacher, had just written on the board. "What are you on about, Page?" Al asked, nudging her with his elbow. "What ball?"

Victoria giggled and playfully swatted Al's shoulder, and I shared a brief look with Scorpius. The pair of us had been sure that the brunette Ravenclaw had developed a crush on Albus in the last two months. "Silly Albus! The Halloween ball tonight!" She raised her eyebrows as the three of us turned to each other, eyes wide, jaws dropping. "Oh, please don't tell me you forgot, you three!"

"I can't believe it!" Al grunted, kicking the leg of the desk in frustration, causing everyone to turn around and stare at us. Not that he cared, the loud git loves the sound of his own voice and loves when people give him attention even more (yes, I love Al, but it's true and we both know it). He held up an apologetic hand as Professor Monroe turned around, looking only mildly annoyed at Albus' outburst; like the rest of us, I think she'd become used to them. As soon as she turned around to face the board, Albus turned back to face us once again, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Honestly! How did we forget? We don't even have costumes! We're going to be the only ones not in costume, and I'd rather _not_ go than do that!"

"Unless we go to Hogsmeade," Scorpius sighed, running his hands through his blonde hair and turning to me for some sort of solution. "And we can't. It's a Friday for one, and we're first-years. I suppose we could ask our parents to go for us, but my dad wouldn't be bothered, and they wouldn't get it in time anyway, and even then the costumes might not fit and –"

It was like someone had cast a _Lumos_ as Scorpius said that, and I clapped my hands together with joy. "That's it!" I cried, putting my quill down and leaning forwards. "I know what we can go as! We don't even need to buy anything, all you two need to do is follow me to the library!"

* * *

"Rose, are you sure about this?" Scorpius asked me, fiddling with his tie as we descended the stairs leading towards the Great Hall entrance. The rest of the school were already inside, and we were somewhat _fashionably late_; partly because Scorpius had been nervous and partly because Albus was too busy looking at himself in the mirror. "Are you sure you want to go in the ball dressed like… your parents?"

Yep, the boys and I were currently dressed as the Golden Trio: Uncle Harry, Mum and Dad. I'd had to hunt down a few charms in the library and practice a few times before I could change our appearances, and I'd borrowed our cousins' Gryffindor uniforms, but we'd managed it. Roxy had been easy to persuade, but I'd had to promise to unconditionally help Fred and James with their latest prank to get them to agree to lend us their uniforms. Even then, I knew the three of them had been confused as to why I'd asked to borrow their uniforms, even more so because I'd asked them to keep it all a secret.

Albus, of course, had taken the part of his father. He hadn't needed to change much, he's already got Uncle Harry's jet black hair and cool emerald eyes, and he'd been told since birth that he looked like a mini version of him. All we'd to do was Scor's glasses (with a charm on the lenses that made it easy for Albus to see through them) and I'd charmed a fake scar onto his forehead. But… I don't remember hearing about Uncle Harry being so cocky…

"Oh, calm down, Scor!" Al scoffed, flicking our friend's tie with the tip of his wand and ruffling his hair. As Scorpius groaned at hit his hand away, I couldn't help but giggle at just how cocky he was. Merlin, he was worse than James, Fred and Louis combined. "We look _good_. Well, at least I do. You and Rosie look alright, I guess. You know us Potter men. We're come top in everything we do – popularity, brains, looks and dealing with the _ladies_."

"Oh, please, Al!" Scor laughed. He winked at me quickly, before turning to face my cousin, his lips curled into a smirk. "Everyone knows us Malfoy men have you piped to the post. Maybe not in popularity and 'dealing with the ladies', but brains and looks – easy." Actually, right now, Scor wasn't his typical blonde self, he was Ronald Weasley.

I know, the irony. But Al had already called dibs on Uncle Harry, and I'm a girl, so what else could we have done? Making him look my Dad had been harder than making Al look like Uncle Harry. I'd had to cast a charm so his hair was ginger and a bit shorter, like Dad's had been in first year; I'd charmed freckles onto his pale, normally porcelain face and charm his grey eyes so they turned blue. While Al had burst out laughing when he came out of the dormitory they shared, I honestly think Scor didn't look so bad as a Weasley; but still, the Malfoy look worked a lot better for him.

"Scor, you're a Weasley now," Al teased, laughing and ruffling our friend's hair once again. Scorpius didn't even try to fix his hair this time, just pushing Albus off of him. "And to be honest, the Weasley look doesn't suit you much. I think looking pale and washed-up is your look to be honest, not sun-kissed, ginger and freckled. Your look won't get you many girls, but the Weasley look isn't you at all. Tonight I'll be off with all the babes! I'm the hottest out of us!"

"Rose still looks the best, no matter what you say, Al," Scorpius said, turning to smile at me. He reached out slightly and took my hand in his, squeezing it softly. We'd reached the bottom of the stairs at this point, but my two best friends were just smiling at me now. Everyone said I was the spitting image of my mum, so all I'd done was charm my hair brown. My curly hair was the exact same style hers had been in her first and second years at Hogwarts, and borrowing Roxy's uniform when she was a lot taller than I was meant that her uniform was baggy on me, the same way Mum's had been. To be honest, I don't think I looked half bad… I just looked like normal me.

"Brown hair looks nice on you, Rosie," Al commented, and I couldn't help but smile at his lack of denial at Scorpius' comment. He linked his arm through my spare one and pulled me closer to his side. "You look older, but in a nice way. You look even more like your mum than you usually do." I blushed and he turned to Scorpius, grinning. "We're going to be fighting the boys off her tonight, Scor."

"Oh, please!" Scorpius said. "_We're_ hardly going to be fighting them off her!" I was about to thank him as moved closer to me, so I was sandwiched between my best friends, but he winked at Al over the top of my head. "We're going to need the whole Auror department to keep Rosie safe!"

"Oh, ha ha," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes and snorting at them. Not particularly ladylike, I know, but I had to resort to that behaviour being best friends with these two. I tried to pull away from them but they kept me in between them, smirking at each other. "Can we just go in now?" My two best friends nodded and laughed, pushing open the doors. As we stepped into the Great Hall everyone fell silent, and I couldn't help but inwardly groan at just how many of those silences we'd triggered since starting at Hogwarts.

My first thought was _'Oh great. We've just made giant prats of ourselves. What a stupid, stupid idea.'_

My second thought: _'I'm gonna have to work on a memory charm to get everyone to forget this if we wanna make more friends.'_

My third thought: _'Al and Scor are gonna kill me.'_

My fourth and final thought: _'RUN!'_

But as I was set to use all the strength I had in my body to pull away from my best friends, I looked around properly, noting that people weren't staring at us in horror, it was with admiration and awe. Victoire, dressed as a Siren, and her friends over at the punch table were grinning at us, whilst Roxy and Lucy, as an Egyptian goddess and cat, were giving us the thumbs up. Fred and James, as a pirate and gladiator, were smiling proudly, and Louis, as a poor replica of Teddy's late father, was mouthing 'WOW' to us. And everyone else was smiling and pointing, nudging one another so most eyes were on us. _Bloody typical. _Place a Weasley in Slytherin and she gets stared at constantly because of it, Merlin, why couldn't I have just been in Gryffindor.

I shifted uncomfortably at the number of eyes on us, and Scorpius put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and dragged me into the room properly. My cheeks flushed as he pulled me (and Al) over to the snack table, and a path was cleared as we walked. Merlin, I got less attention than this when I walked around with Mum and Dad. Amongst the crowd, I could see Jono and his seventh year friends clapping, evidently amazed at our simple costumes, while Scott, Parker and Leo wolf-whistled appreciatively.

But in a matter of seconds, people were coming up to us, telling us how much we looked like our parents (and how Scor made an excellent Ron Weasley). I was being complimented – not only did I have my mother's brains, but her stunning looks too, which made my cheeks heat up. Albus was being told he looked the spitting image of Uncle Harry and the smirk on his face just kept getting bigger and bigger. And Scorpius was being told he looked like a true Weasley.

As someone snapped a picture of us, I couldn't help but realise I'd never seen Scorpius so happy. I think Scor was happy about that, being called a true Weasley, I mean. While Albus and I babbled on about our families and childhood memories with the cousins that attended Hogwarts with us, Scor rarely talked about his. Albus and I would get weekly batches letters from our family back home, while Scor had gotten one in the whole time we'd been at Hogwarts, simply to congratulate him for being sorted into his family house.

I think he liked being friends with Albus and I, because it was like our own little family.


	4. First Year: Letters from Home

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

**Chapter Four: Letters From Home**

* * *

(Albus POV)

"Look you guys, more letters from home!" Rose cheered as we ate our breakfast, dropping her spoon into her porridge and pointing at the large windows behind the teachers' table. I groaned as she did so, and porridge splattered all over my school tie and white shirt, but I looked up at the windows nonetheless. Sure enough, as usual, my favourite redhead cousin she was right. The golden owl of Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, the white owl (Hedwig The Second) of my parents and the jet black Malfoy owl were flying into the Great Hall. Soon enough, the letters had been dropped onto our laps.

It was Saturday morning, the three of us had come down late to breakfast. It was the weekend and most people were at Hogsmeade, so the place was mainly deserted, apart from a few other first and second years who'd also struggled to get out of bed that morning. Hogwarts' rules had changed since Dad's time here, and once you were in third year, you can go to Hogsmeade every weekend. Fred, James, Roxy and Louis were only second years but as Uncle George had given all the Weasley cousins part-time jobs at the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Hogsmeade, which he ran during the school year, so McGonagall had given them written permission to go too. I couldn't wait until next year when Rose and I could go, and I was sure once Uncle George met Scorpius, he'd be given a job too!

Rose opened her letters eagerly, one by one, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. Rose loves Hogwarts and all, but she loves her parents too (and Hugo, though she'd never admit that to anyone), and I know for a fact she couldn't wait until we went home in about a month, for the Christmas holidays. It was funny: Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were both cool people, but they were so protective of Rose as their eldest child, and it was clear how much they loved her. Aunt Hermione always wrote Rose long letters, but it had been surprising to see Uncle Ron's letters were just as long; Dad had always told me how much he hated school, but every Weasley, particularly the men, had a soft spot for Rosie.

As she started opening hers, I smiled down at the messily scrawled envelope with my own name on it. As much as I loved Hogwarts, I was excited to go home to see my family too.

* * *

(Rose POV)

I opened Mum's letter first, as I always do. Mum's letters are generally the longest and she's the parent I can tell everything. Though I was a Daddy's girl, I love my Mum; she's everything a mum should be. She's kind-hearted, welcoming, beautiful, understanding, generous… the list goes on and on.

I pulled the green ribbon off the piece of parchment and began to scan over Mum's neat handwriting:

_Dearest Rosie,_

_We miss you here at home!_

_I miss you the most, especially when Hugo and your dad are out playing Quidditch in the garden and I'm stuck inside doing nothing. I've bought so many new books because of it! Actually, you'd probably be out playing with them, then come inside and coax me to watch you, but you know I love watching you fly, Rosie, you're a lot more graceful than the Weasley men (Merlin, I hope you get onto the Slytherin team next year and put your cousins in their place)._

_I read two Muggle books I thought you might like: Pride and Prejudice and The Fault In Our Stars. I would've sent them over, but seeing as you're coming here for Christmas in under a month, I thought I'd just give it to you then. Don't worry though, sweetie, they're not your actual Christmas present!_

_Speaking of Christmas, Nana Molly asked what you want, other than the usual jumper and fudge of course. And Teddy and Victoire want you to help them plan their wedding in the summer, and want you to be the maid of honour if that's alright with you. I'm surprised Victoire didn't ask you herself, but she's probably so busy with all the preparation for her NEWTs and Prefect duties (you've got a while still before that's you, so enjoy it). _

_But anyway, how are you, Rosie? I haven't heard from you for a while now, you're probably busy studying and hanging around with your friends. In that picture of you and your friends at the Halloween ball your Uncle Neville sent me, you look so beautiful, sweetie. I don't believe you look like me! Though well done on those charms you did to make you look even more like us than you already do!_

_Have you broken any rules yet? I hope not! Though, maybe you have, and I won't mind a bit so long as you don't get yourself expelled. You're more like your Uncle Harry – you always end up getting in some trouble! Or maybe your Uncle Fred, with all those pranks you secretly pull! _

_Please write back, honey. I love you._

_Mum xx_

I smiled as I read Mum's letter. I really and truly was her daughter, I loved reading and learning just as much as she did, though I loved Quidditch and pulling pranks too. But she'd always understood that, in fact she encouraged me to be a bit bolder than her. Before Scorpius and I became friends, Mum and Albus were the only two I could confide in properly. Sure, there was also Dad and Victoire and Teddy, but I couldn't tell them everything.

I made a mental note to write back to her after breakfast, and in it apologise for not writing sooner. It must be quite sad for Mum, being the only girl at home. And Dad and Hugo aren't exactly the best of company, especially when they're put together – making sexist jokes and sniggering when she tells them off. Despite me telling her just to Bat Bogey Hex them (as Aunt Ginny had shown me), she just put up with them.

I opened Dad's letter next, and began to read it:

_Rosiepie!_

_How are you, my baby girl?_

_Anyway, let's get to the point fast, yes? Are there any boys at Hogwarts you're interested in at the moment? Well, I think the answer should be no. You're only in your first year. Plus, none of the boys in your year are good enough for my Rosie. And if you get a boyfriend one day (your mother says I'll have to accept the fact that you will get a boyfriend a lot before she did – though I bloody hope not) I want a letter from: all his old teachers, his siblings, his parents and his grandparents. Just so I can check he's suitable for you obviously. (I think I'm kidding)_

_Yes, I have finally accepted that you're friends with Malfoy's son. I'd rather you weren't, but I do love you Rosie, and if you say he's a good kid, I'm sure he is. It'll be hard for me to accept him easily though, I hope you know that, but I hope I change my mind when I meet him at some point over next summer. And that's why I hope you don't get mad when I say – why did he have to be me?_

_Your mother laughed at that enclosed picture, she really did. She did say how much you looked like more attractive versions of us, but she laughed at how different the Malfoy boy looks as a redhead, and how Al is a ringer for your Uncle Harry. But then she began crying as she saw how much you look so much more beautiful than when you left us. (Which you do by the way. That photo has now been replicated and is hanging in our house, and in the Burrow) _

_Tell me about the upcoming Quidditch matches. When are they? And why is it that Slytherin vs Gryffindor isn't until January? That's the biggest match of the year, and everyone knows it! Plus, I want to support your house! I don't care if your house is playing against James, Fred, Louis and Roxy; my daughter means more to me than my nephews and niece. (Though I love them all) _

_Anyway, I'd better go, I'm doing a shift at WWW in Diagon Alley. I wish I was working at the Hogsmeade one instead – the customers here aren't half as exciting when you lot at at Hogwarts. _

_And yes, I'll send you some things – but for heaven's sake, don't tell your mum!_

_Love you,_

_Dad._

I was really surprised to find that not only was Dad's letter longer than usual, it also had more than the usual 'no boys' lecture. I'd always been worried about how Dad felt about my friendship with Scorpius and being sorted into Slytherin on top of that. Tears almost sprung to my eyes when I read that he was accepting our friendship and my house. As a Daddy's girl, Dad's opinion had been extremely important to me, which is why as soon as I went to bed in the dormitory I had to myself, I'd regretted making the impulsive decision to ask the Sorting Hat to put me in Slytherin. But really, I'd wanted to be different to the other Weasleys, and I'd wanted to be with Albus and Scorpius. And now I was sorted, I was happy in Slytherin

Scorpius had become one of the most important people in my life, and initially it had really torn me up that Dad hadn't accepted him as Mum, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny had. But as I read on, I laughed. You could tell Dad was trying to be nice and see the significant change in his attitude towards Scor, but he's oh so predictable. I knew he was going to react like that at Scorpius going as him to the Halloween ball, but I was happy he was going to try to give him a chance when they met.

Hugo's letter was the hardest to read, after all, there were ink splotches everywhere, bits of fluff stuck all over the parchment and smudges from food here and there (he never was the neatest of eaters) but I was still touched he'd taken the time to write (unlike Lily, who hadn't wrote to Al since September):

_Rosie,_

_I miss you at home. Mum and Dad keep telling me I'm going to Hogwarts in 2 years but I don't wanna wait 2 years._

_I don't no what to do at home its so boring without you you know. Dad doesnt play Quiditch with me as much as he used to befour. I think he misses you a lot._

_And Mum is 2 busy working or reeding 2 take me 2 the park._

_Mum says your coming back for Chrismas. See you soon Rosie!_

_Hugo_

_PS – Can you get Fred, James and Looey to get me some choclate from Hunnyjuks pls?_

I smiled. Hugo's letters always made me smile and I tended to ignore the grammatical and spelling mistakes. He wrote a lot, sometimes more than Mum and Dad) and I always replied to his immediately. Hugo could be a pain in the behind, but out of the whole Weasleys (minus Fred and Roxy, but that's expected, as they're twins), we were the closest siblings. And to be honest, I missed him so much now I was at Hogwarts.

I just laughed when I saw his parting words. Because I couldn't wait to see him at Christmas either. In fact, I'd already ordered his present from a Quidditch catalogue. I'd got him his first broom (he uses Dad's old Cleansweep when we play). And getting our cousins to get him some chocolates… I'd pay for a bag of sweets from Honeyjukes too.

* * *

(Albus POV)

I only had one letter, a joint one from Mum and Dad, but I didn't mind. Both of them didn't like writing long letters like Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione (I think it's 'cause they got used to James being gone, so they have with me too, but Rose is the oldest out of her and Hugo), but at least they wrote, unlike Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey who always claimed they were too busy to write to Lucy and Molly (though I don't think our older cousins particularly cared). Lily had given up, but that was expected, as any nine year old (bar Hugo) would lose effort in writing to their older sibling when they were jealous of them already being at Hogwarts.

_Al,_

_We miss you here at home! We can't wait to have you come home in a few weeks! Lily's been complaining that you haven't got her letters. Actually, that was after we scolded her for not writing to you, so maybe the little one's lying? Silly Lily._

_Your Nana Molly asked what you want, other than the usual Weasley jumper and fudge. Ted and Vic want you to help them plan with their wedding alongside Rosie and the other cousins and by the way – you're one of the groomsmen, along with Fred and Louis! Congrats, buddy!_

_See you in a few weeks and say hi to James (who has stopped replying all together, I assume because he's too busy with Quidditch!) _

_Mum and Dad._

_PS from Mum – You'd better be listening my game on the radio in a few weeks! I know you've (sadly) taken after your Uncle Ron and become a Cannons fan, but they suck. Go Harpies!_

_PS from Dad – Hope you're doing well son. I told you Slytherin wouldn't be bad, three months into the school year! And look, Rosie got in too, it can't be a bad house! Plus, you and your friends looked hilarious as me, Ron and Hermione. But a lot like us!_

_PS from Lily – Is Slytherin scary? How is Rosie? You look silly as Daddy. _

I smiled as I finished reading it. They didn't write me a novel, but my parents had always managed to make me laugh.

* * *

(Scorpius POV)

Next to me, Rose clutched the three letters she'd received to her chest, tears of laughter shining in her golden-brown eyes, and opposite us, Al laughed silently to himself as he re-read his letter from his parents. I looked down at my letter again.

_Scorpius,_

_You're okay? Good._

_You're coming home from Christmas, yes? _

_We'll see you soon._

_Your Grandfather, Grandmother, Father and Mother._

Tears shone in my eyes as I read it over and over and over again; it was so short, I'd already read it a good six times before Rose finished reading her three. But unlike Rose, my tears weren't of happiness, they were of self-pity at the lack of the affection from my family members. Mum and Dad weren't usually so blunt, and even Grandma Narcissa was generally a lot more loving; I knew then, with a sinking feeling in my heart that Grandfather had been the one to write the letter, and suddenly the thought of going back to the Manor for Christmas made me ill. Even though I'd dressed up as one on Halloween, I'd never be a Weasley, I'd always truly be a Malfoy. And I'd never be part of a real family like Rose and Al were.


	5. First Year: Home for Christmas

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

* * *

_AN: I would love to reply to all the reviews I've received in the past 2/3 years since I've updated but I have a feeling it would be a chapter within itself! So firstly I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who's taken the time to review anything I've ever written._

_I'd like to apologise for not updated in so long, it's a bit ridiculous how long actually. It's easier to start at the beginning: 2/3 years ago I was diagnosed with something which changed my life, and I kept meaning to return, but with everything going on in my life it was really hard and I just wanted to focus on myself for a while. And even though my life will be very very busy over the next year (applying to universities is so hard!), I will gradually be starting to update all my fanfictions again because I do miss writing and I still have so many ideas and plots written out. Hopefully you can all support this decision and be patient with me!_

_If you were a reader of this fanfiction before I disappeared, I'd still recommend going back and reading, because I've added quite a lot here and there. It's funny how critical I am now of my writing 2/3 years ago._

_This is the last chapter that will be edited, the next chapter posted will be a new chapter, so read and review please! _

_This one's a bit different to the light-hearted trio we're used to so just a heads-up. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Five: Home for Christmas**

(Scorpius POV)

"I win again! In your face, Scor!" Rose teased, as she beat me at chess for what seemed like the hundredth time in a row. Dad always said the Weasleys, especially Ron, who had supposedly completed a giant chessboard in their first year in order to help Albus' Dad get to the Philosopher's Stone, were good at chess, but I hadn't been aware of just _how_ good. And that Ron Weasley would have passed this skill onto his eldest daughter.

We were on the Hogwarts Express going home for the Christmas holidays; two weeks without one another for the first time since we'd started Hogwarts. Mealtimes without Rose's appalling eating habits and Albus' disgust would be odd, waking up and not having to drag Albus out of bed would be odd, not hanging out in the Slytherin common room as Rose pestered us to do our essays so we didn't fall behind. There were so many things about our friendship that had become routine over the course of the past four months or so, but now Rose and Albus were going to stay at the Burrow with the rest of the Weasleys, and I was going home to Malfoy Manor. _Oh joy._

Albus laughed as Rose struggled to pick up all the pieces with her small hands, ready to set up the chess board so we could play again, biting her bottom lip the way she always did when she was concentrating. He'd just been sat opposite us as he usually did, pretending to read The Quibbler, when really he was watching us over the top of the tabloid. He always enjoyed watching Rose and I compete, though in a more amicable way than our fathers' had expected us to. Unfortunately for me, she'd always end up winning; I'd try my hardest and she'd beat me almost effortlessly, whether it was tests or games. Some people have all the luck.

Rose Weasley was one of these people.

* * *

"How many times did I beat you at Wizard's Chess, Scor?" Rose said jokingly as we got off the train, her blue eyes sparkling mischievously as she turned back to see the look on my face. Albus laughed, patting her on the back, and I scowled jokingly, nudging her with my elbow. "One day I'll beat you, Rosie, just you wait and see." She turned back to face me so we were a breath apart and her lips curled into a smirk as my cheeks flushed slightly. "Looking forward to watch you _try_, Scor."

"Hey, Rosie, Al! Get over here!"

I squinted and looked further down the platform, nearer the entrance, where there was a giant sea of people, mainly redheads but a few blondes and brunettes thrown into the mix too. The Weasleys, the people Rose and Albus were lucky enough to call family.

Dad was right, there were a ridiculous amount of them, much more than I'd even realized. They were a lot closer than most families, and judging by what I was seeing, they were just as close to their extended family members. I saw the tall, beautiful quarter-Veela Victoire Weasley: the seventh year Gryffindor Prefect and the eldest of the Weasley brood, hugging an older woman who was so stunning I knew it had to be her mother. Molly and Lucy Weasley stood with an uptight looking man dressed in a pinstripe suit, who _had_ to be Percy Weasley, while Dominique and Louis pounced on a broad-shouldered redheaded man with scars on his face, who was clearly Bill Weasley, their father. George Weasley was huddled to one side with James, Fred and Louis and from what Albus had told me, I assumed he was asking them about all the pranks they'd managed to pull off since they'd gone back to Hogwarts. Roxy was stood chatting to a little girl and boy that looked so much like Ginny Potter and Ron Weasley that they had to be Lily Luna and Hugo, Albus and Rose's younger siblings.

Amongst the crowd, I spotted Teddy Lupin, who is technically more closely related to me, make his way over to Victoire and plant a kiss on her lips, his turquoise blue hair turning a light pink as a result. I hadn't even met the older boy, but apparently he was engaged to Victoire, and had practically grown up with them, so the Weasleys had somewhat adopted him. I spotted even more Uncles and Aunts running around, greeting everyone who'd gotten off the train, I could see Rose and Albus' grandparents making their way around the group, kissing all their grandchildren. And then, I saw the people I feared the most of all – The Golden Trio.

I know, I know, they're not scary or bad or anything, of course they're not, the three of them saved the Wizarding World when they were seventh years! It's just, from what I'd learned in school and heard from Rose and Albus, I'd grown an over-whelming amount of respect for them, and I was worried the three of them weren't happy with our friendship. After all, I'd seen the way Ron Weasley looked at me on this same platform back in September. How did he feel about the fact that I'd become one of his daughter's best friends?

Albus stuck out a hand and high-fived me and clapped me on the back, grinning at me. "I'll see you in January, yeah, mate? Remember to practice Quidditch – we're trying out for the team next year! I'm sending you your present on Christmas Day itself, I'm not having you open it before like I know you will!" I smiled and nodded at him, punching him jokingly on the shoulder. I couldn't believe that we'd hated each other at the beginning of the year: he was now my roommate, my best mate and someone who I could confide in. Alongside Rose, he'd become one of the most important people in my life.

I turned to face Rose once again and let out a gasp of surprise as she flung her arms around my neck and hugged me close. I heard the similar reactions from her family and could sense Albus snickering beside us, but I focused my attention on what she was now saying to me. "Remember to write, Scor. I'm gonna miss you so much." Rose Weasley. Rose had easily become my best friend in the past few months. She was someone who I trusted my life with and someone who had believed in me when no one else had. I couldn't even begin to imagine how different my life would be if she hadn't given me a chance during our first journey to Hogwarts.

"I will, I promise," I said softly, as we pulled apart. I squeezed her hand softly as tears began to brim in her warm brown eyes, and fought back the tears in my own. She nodded and sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, attempting to blink the tears away. Al put an arm around her shoulder as I let go of her hand, and the three of us nodded at each other. "Have a nice holiday," we all chorused as we smiled sadly, then they walked off to their family.

I turned to the opposite end of the platform, slowly walking over to my family members, who did _not_ look pleased with my choice of friends. Two weeks with cold looks and nagging family members was not going to be fun, and I knew I'd miss Rose and Albus even more because of it.

Little did I know then that I was going to see my two best friends a lot sooner than I'd intended to, under quite unfortunate circumstances.

* * *

"Why on earth are you friends with a Weasley and a Potter, boy?" My grandfather asked, slamming his fork down on the table. My mother and grandmother flinched visibly, but continued to eat their dinner. My father put his utensils down and began fidgeting with his collar, a sign that he was feeling uncomfortable. I had a feeling he hadn't mentioned my friends to my grandfather despite me writing to warn him about who they were.

We'd Floo'd home straight away, and as soon as I'd stepped foot in the Manor a few hours ago, I'd bolted up to my room and hadn't come back down, scared of the frosty reception I knew I'd receive. But I hadn't been able to avoid confrontation completely, when my mother had called everyone to dinner. It's odd, the Manor has so many rooms, and judging by how Rose and Albus described the Burrow, it's a lot larger than their grandparents' house that they'd spent most of their childhood in. The Manor was cold and the many rooms made you feel even more isolated. Though I'd rather be isolated than be sitting opposite my grandfather at the dinner table.

I decided to stay silent in response to what my grandfather had said, and continued making my way through my dinner. I stared down at my steak and chewed, my vision blurring slightly. I knew what would come out if I were to even open my mouth to speak: Rose and Albus weren't bad people, I knew that now, and I'd tell my grandfather that. Which would be _very_ dangerous for me, considering the amount of Dark Magic he'd been accused of in the Wizarding War. He'd been spared Azkaban because of his last minute cowardice, when they'd simply walked away from it all, yet I knew he was guilty than most of the other Death Eaters.

"Do you even have a clue what the Weasley and Potter scum have done to this family, Scorpius?" he yelled, standing up and looking twice as threatening as spit flew from his mouth in his furious tirade. I'd heard this speech numerous times, but that was back when I didn't know them. Now I knew who was the scum. "I don't know how you can be friends with the Potter boy and not see his father's face everyday! If I were sharing a dormitory with him, I'd have used the Killing Curse on him in the first week, if not the first night! Potter gave me a lot of cheek, even before the war and his son looks just as bad. And _Merlin_, Granger and Weasley. I told you never to associate with the Weasleys, they're a filthy bunch of blood traitors!"

I hoped he would shut up, so I wouldn't have to hear him insulting my friends further, I could feel myself growing more and more angry, I was currently gripping my cutlery so tightly that my knuckles had turned shockingly white. Yet, of course Lucius Malfoy continued his outburst, not willing to disclose his hated of the Golden Trio and their family. "And their ugly spawn! Honestly, that girl is obviously a half-blood, she's almost as bad as the Potter boy! Her uniform, her hair, her –"

"Rose Weasley is not ugly," I snarled, gritting my teeth. "And what you've just said is a pile of crap. If anyone's scum, it's you. I'm ashamed to have to call you my grandfather." He'd hit a raw nerve, going after Rose and insulting her, and he knew that. But I wasn't going to sit back any longer and listen to him insulting people I knew were the good people in the Wizarding World. I'd spent the last eleven years being told to hate them, but now I knew them, that was impossible.

I found myself regretting my Gryffindor-like bravery and speaking out, the same way Rose would have, as I looked around the table and saw my family members react to what I'd just said. My father's eyes were widened in shock, and my mother and grandmother looked like they were going to collapse. Across from me, Lucius Malfoy's eyes were bulging in anger, practically coming out of their sockets.

He bolted around the table and grabbed me by my collar, pinning me against the wall and ignoring the frightened pleas of our family members. At this moment, I could see the visual similarities between us: the platinum-blonde hair, the steely-grey eyes and even the vein that popped out slightly on his forehead when he was angry. But I knew that this was where the similarities and familial traits ended as he reached into his pocket and drew out his wand, spitting on me as he yelled.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, BOY? ARE YOU STANDING UP FOR A WEASLEY? AND A POTTER, OVER YOUR OWN FAMILY? YOU'RE A FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR – I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU A LESSON, ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

* * *

(Rose POV)

"Typical that you, Ron, who hates the Malfoys more than anyone, has a daughter who is _best_ friends with one," Uncle Percy chuckled, throwing his head back and slapping his knee. "And that's on _top_ of being the first Weasley to ever be sorted into Slytherin house, Merlin help us all!"

"Ignore him, Rose, he's drunk," Lucy whispered in my ear, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as her dad began to gulp down even more Firewhisky. The festive family gatherings were the only time Uncle Percy could get off work, therefore, he tended to get as drunk as he desired. Making up for a lost childhood of parties, Mum had always told me as an explanation. But I'd never been at the receiving end of the brutal honesty that came with a drunken Uncle Percy.

Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie, who were just as drunk, guffawed, high-fiving one another. "She'll end up marrying him, ol' buddy boy, Ron! You're gonna be the granddad of Malfoy babies! Her kids are gonna grow up in that blasted Manor, calling Draco their grandfather!" Uncle Charlie snorted, pointing at me. "If he's anything like his father, you'd better hope Rosie here doesn't marry him," Uncle Bill continued, as Victoire gave me an apologetic look from the sofa opposite. The rest of the cousins looked equally as awkward, whilst next to me, Albus had practically gone red. "He'll be a rude, slimy, arrogant little toerag –"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled, standing up, tears streaming down my cheeks as everyone turned to face me. I couldn't even bear to look over at my parents, sat around the kitchen table with the other relatively sober family members, I just narrowed my eyes at the three uncles who felt the need to criticize one of my best friends. "Scorpius is nothing like his father! He's shy and quiet and kind-hearted – you don't even know him! He's nothing like his parents! You can't just judge him for his name!"

And with that, I ran up to Aunt Ginny's old room, where I'd be staying for the next few nights leading up to Christmas, ignoring the faces of my bewildered relatives at my shocking outburst.

* * *

(Third Person POV)

Hermione Weasley woke up with a start as she heard a faint knock at the front door of the Burrow. She sat up straight and looked around the living room, where her, Ron, Harry and Ginny were sleeping. Ron was sprawled out on one sofa bed next to her, whilst Harry and Ginny slept on the one opposite. But the other three remained perfectly still and asleep. They always were heavy sleepers, Hermione thought to herself, sighing heavily as she dismissed the sound of a figment of her imagination, and pulled the covers around her more tightly, snuggling closer to her husband.

Hermione didn't like the dark, ever since the Wizarding War. It had been so many years ago, but she was still haunted with nightmares; she didn't like being the last awake, that's why she always went to bed first, she'd fallen asleep on the sofa whilst the Weasley siblings were drinking around her. She hated thinking that there was something outside the Burrow, that they weren't safe after all.

When there was another faint knock, Hermione reached for her wand and dressing gown, and began to make her way over to the door, casting a quiet _Lumos_ charm. A million bad thoughts ran through her head. What if it was some stray Death Eaters, who'd escaped Azkaban? What if it was someone trying to attack the Weasley clan? What if it was someone trying to kill her for her part in the Wizarding War?

Inhaling deeply, Hermione unlocked the front door, and opened it slowly. Once it had opened about two centimetres and nothing bad had happened, Hermione flung the door open and looked outside. Of course, it had been her imagination playing with her once again, few people wanted to harm the Weasleys, and the people who did were rotting in Azkaban for it. They were fine; it must have just been her mind playing with her once again.

Instead of turning to go sleep next to Ron straight away, she couldn't help but look out and admire the beauty of the Burrow's surroundings at Christmas. The fresh snow which was currently falling from the sky was pure and white and untouched; Hermione loved the Burrow at Christmas, which is why for the first week of the holidays, the whole family always stayed over, no matter how much of a squeeze it was. Hermione's pink lips curled into a small smile, and she felt over-whelmed with love for this time of year, practically constructing a poem in her mind about how much she loved the festivities that came with the Weasley family Christmas. But as she took a step further into the darkness, that was when she saw the crumpled body of Scorpius Malfoy lying face down just below the front porch, a limp hand lying on the stairs that led up to the Burrow.

* * *

(Albus POV)

Aunt Hermione's scream had woken every single Weasley up, despite the fact that most of the family were notoriously heavy sleepers. Absolute chaos had broken out, Aunt Hermione wasn't one to scream, so when we'd all heard the piercing screech, we'd sprinted down the stairs, and immediately ran to see what was going on. Rose and I had bumped into each other as we ran out of the rooms we were sleeping in, and she'd wailed as the pair of us sprinted downstairs and saw our parents bent over the unconscious form of our best friend.

Seconds after we'd sat down, the rest of the Weasley brood followed, and the living room of the Burrow was currently filled with screaming redheads, blondes and brunettes. Rose and I were stood behind the sofa bed Scorpius lay across, and I wrapped my arms around her as she sobbed, her body slumped against mine. Everyone had huddled in small groups, and just looking around, I could see that everyone was here, from Grandma Molly in her beige dressing gown to baby Ruby, Uncle Charlie's two-year-old daughter, in her yellow babygro.

"Everyone, calm down; please be quiet," Dad said sternly, trying to speak loudly over the rest of the family's chatter as he circled the room, trying to calm everyone down. His eyes were still bloodshot from sleep, his hair ruffled and his round glasses wonky on his face, but he was trying to keep everyone calm and reassure them that things would be okay. This just went to show the compassion of the Weasleys, hardly any of them knew Scorpius personally, and even the ones that did didn't particularly like him, but they were just as worried about him as Rose and I were. But no one had even heard Dad's attempt to calm everyone down.

"OI SHUT UP, THE LOT OF YOU!"

It may have been early in the morning, but Mum had no problem yelling at the top of her voice, her brown eyes flickering dangerously. All the Weasleys fell silent and turned to her, a fearful expression on every single person's face. Mum tended to be good at that, inflicting fear on people so they were forced to listen to her, scared she'd use the Bat Bogey Hex (which, unluckily for me, she'd taught Rose) on them. As soon as she was satisfied with everyone's silence, she turned to Dad, a forced smile on her face. "Go on, Harry." It came out in the calmest voice possible and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; _Merlin_, what a weirdo my mum was.

Dad smiled back at her nervously, and ran his hands through his hair before turning to the rest of us. "Now, I know this must be very scary and sudden for all of you – trust me, I'm just as worried – but you all need to relax and go back to your rooms, immediately, and get some sleep. We'll come by and explain the situation to all of you in the morning, now go rest up. If you want to come to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade for some last minute Christmas shopping, you'd better be down here before ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Now, go to bed." Everyone turned to go, and Dad sighed. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny – I'd like you to stay."

Rose was seemingly oblivious to what my Dad had said, her tear-filled blue eyes fixed on Scorpius, and I sighed, grabbing her arm and pulling her so we could follow the rest of our relatives upstairs. My dad stepped forward and put his arms around our shoulders. "Wait, Rosie and Al… you must stay too. Scorpius needs you if he wakes up, and the two of you are his best friends."

I felt Rose tense beside me, and felt a sinking feeling in my chest. Rose was brave, fiery and gutless, just a few of the qualities that would have made her the perfect Gryffindor. But the one thing Rose couldn't take was seeing the people she loved in pain or discomfort of any kind; it's why she was so protective, she didn't want her friends and family to get hurt. I'd only seen her cry a few times in my life, despite all the Quidditch-inflicted injuries she'd experienced in the past few years, she hadn't ever cried. But she'd bawled her eyes out when Hugo had fell down the stairs and been taken to St Mungo's when he was four.

I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, and she turned to nod at me, before we turned around and walked back towards the sofa where Scorpius lay. Rose's eyes were still shut, but I let out a groan of discomfort as I saw the condition of our best friend. It was strange how despite the state he was in, Scorpius looked so innocent and pure, I suppose it was the blonde Malfoy look; no matter how much I teased him about Potters being the more attractive, he was a good looking guy, our Scorpius. The scratches on his cheeks somehow made his cheekbones appear more defined, yet the purple bruises on his arms and around his neck were obviously from being grabbed – he'd obviously tried to put up a fight against whoever had hurt him. His silvery-blonde eyelashes (which I'd heard some Ravenclaws gushing about just last week) brushed against his cheeks and he looked paler and more ruffled than usual, but other than that, he looked the same as he did when he was asleep in the dormitory we shared. It was odd.

We stood at the front of the sofa this time, and Rose opened her eyes and howled as she opened her eyes and saw Scorpius lying limply on the sofa; a few hours ago, we'd been laughing and joking around on that sofa, before she'd run up to Mum's old room and I'd followed. She knelt down next to him and I inhaled deeply, I could see that Rose cared so much about him; her outburst and tears earlier had been so unlike her, that's why it hurt to see tears clear in her golden-brown eyes, as she gently stroked his cheek.

As if he knew it was her, his eyelids flickered openly slowly. Rose let out a squeal of delight and hugged him closely, her cheek brushing against his. As he let out a moan of discomfort, Rose pulled away and turned to me, her eyes still full of tears, but her lips were curled into a wide smile. She gestured for me to come closer, and moved over to give me space on the carpet beside her.

Scorpius turned his head slightly, so he was facing us both and grinned weakly at me, a trace of that lopsided grin that made Rose blush often, and he lifted his hand weakly. I bent down and high-fived him carefully, scared I was going to hurt him. I hadn't hit his hand hard at all, merely brushing my palm against his, but I still saw him trying not to wince or yelp in pain, the smile wiped off his face in an instant.

"What's happened?" I asked, kneeling down next to Rose, so the two of us were knelt by Scorpius' head, side by side. "Who… who would do this to you?" Scorpius' usually pale skin flushed a pale pink, and he bit his lip nervously, a habit he'd developed after too much time with Rosie. I saw Rose's eyes flash angrily, a sure sign she was set to get very pissed off at whoever had done this. "Scor," she said, wincing as she heard her voice cracking with emotion. She took a deep breath, before gently intertwining their fingers. "Who… who would do this to you?"

Scorpius turned his face away from us, almost as if he was ashamed of what had happened to him, but not before Rose and I got the chance to see tears sparkling in our friend's steely-grey eyes. Rose lifted her spare hand and affectionately ran her fingers through Scor's light hair, the way she always did. She grimaced suddenly, and slowly pulled her hand away from his hair, and I felt like I was going to be sick.

Rose's hand was completely covered in blood.

Aunt Hermione gasped, and it was then I remembered that it wasn't just the three of us. Mum stumbled back into the wall, reeling in shock and Rose began to cry hysterically, holding out the bloodstained hand, unsure of what to do with it. Uncle Ron looked like he was going to be sick, and ran into the kitchen area, his eyes covered as he retched loudly. Dad moved closer to us, looking from Rose's red hand to Scorpius blonde hair. As Scorpius raised his head slightly, I could see that the back of his blonde head was streaked with blood, some of which had stained the sofa.

As he turned slowly back towards us, I locked my eyes with his. "Who did this, Scor?" I asked as calmly as possible, repeating the question he'd still failed to answer. Rose groaned, and I lightly grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at me, emphasising every word. "Scor… who… did… this… to… you?"

"My grandfather!"

At Scorpius' outburst, Uncle Ron ran back into the living room area, Aunt Hermione moved closer and Dad focused his eyes on him. "Lucius did this to you?" Dad said softly, moving closer to us, his entire body visibly tense. Scorpius shivered at the mention of his grandfather's name, but he nodded slowly. "He… he was mad," Scorpius mumbled, so we all had to move closer to hear him. "He hadn't known I was friends with Rose and Albus until he saw us together on the platform. He was mad I was friends with them, and started insulting Rose and the rest of the Weasleys… and well, he got mad when I stood up for her. Then… I got here somehow, I don't remember how, but I just remember thinking of you two."

Rose leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly, before resting her cheek carefully against his and gripping his shirt. "Scor," she whispered, pressing her body against his own limp form. "You didn't have to defend me, you know that. You're my best friend, I know you're always going to have my back. But I would rather watch your grandfather insult me if it meant you wouldn't get hurt."

"But I wouldn't want that, Rosie," Scor mumbled quietly in response. "NO way am I going to let my grandfather say anything bad about you and your family." He turned slightly, so he was facing both of us. "You both let me in, no one else did at first, but you two got people to accept I wasn't just another Malfoy scum." He smiled weakly at me and couldn't help but chuckle. "Even if we did get off to a bad start, I'll never be able to repay you guys for that."

I felt tears brimming in my own eyes and ran a hand through my hair. "Don't mention it, Scor," I said, nodding at him as Rose hugged him again. "You're a good guy, I'm just sorry for treating you like shit before." "You're amazing, Scor," Rose said softly. She pulled away from him, but squeezed his hand gently once again. "I can't believe –"

"Come on, Ron," I heard Dad say gruffly, and turned to see him walk over and clap Uncle Ron on the shoulder. Uncle Ron nodded, his face serious at what he'd just heard. He didn't look annoyed at the exchange between Rose, Scorpius and I, just disturbed by the fact it had been Lucius Malfoy who had injured his own grandson. "We're going to Malfoy Manor." Scorpius sat bolt upright and Rose and I turned to face our dads, completely horrified.

"WHAT?"

"DAD, UNCLE HARRY… YOU MUST BE JOKING!"  
"Mr Weasley, Mr Potter… I really can't ask you to do that!"

Uncle Ron made his way over to us and bent down, wrapping his arms around Rose and hugging her close to him. Dad walked over, smiling at me and putting a hand on Scorpius' shoulder, sighing heavily. "Scorpius, as much as I don't want to go back to the Manor, we need to arrest your grandfather. If he physically assaulted you and cut you with a sharp object of any sort –"

"My grandfather didn't cut me. Or physically assault me, really," Scorpius said softly, as Dad and Uncle Ron exchanged confused looks. He looked nervous, looking down at his lap and it was only when I put a hand on his forearm that he looked up at me, fresh tears brimming in his eyes. "Well… he did, pin me to the wall. But, he… he used… the Crucia –"

"The Cruciatus curse?" Aunt Hermione said, rushing to his side, her eyes wide with horror. I couldn't help but flinch and saw my other family members doing the same; Rose and I had heard about how Aunt Hermione had been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange's use of the Cruciatus curse, during the war. Dad and Uncle Harry had heard it firsthand. And though she'd been young, Scorpius was eleven years old! "Scorpius, please tell me your grandfather did not use the Cruciatus curse on you."

Scorpius blushed as the rest of us gawped at him in shock, but tears began falling down his cheeks, as his eyes grew cold, clearly remembering the events that had occurred a few hours ago. Uncle Ron let go of Rose and straightened up, nudging Dad, quickly going over to Aunt Hermione and planting a chaste kiss on her forehead. "We're going now, Harry. We're going to Malfoy Manor." Uncle Ron knelt down once again, so he was eye level with Scorpius and he sighed heavily. "Don't you worry, Malfoy – Scorpius. We'll arrest your grandfather, there will be a court case and in the likely chance he's proven guilty, he'll be in Azkaban forever. We're not letting him get away with this."

Rose blinked in shock and raised her eyebrows at me, and behind her, I could see Aunt Hermione looking the same way at Mum, both clearly surprised by Uncle Ron's reaction to what Scorpius had said. He'd made it clear from the start that he didn't particularly like Rose and I being friends with Scorpius, but this was a clear sign he did actually want to get to know him better, for our sake. He smiled as he saw me staring and cleared his throat. "Al, do me a favour, go to my old room, where you're sleeping. I'm sure there's some of my old jumpers and pyjamas in the bottom drawer, make sure Scorpius is warm after he's been warmed up. In the morning, we'll take him to St Mungo's for a quick check-up, you may need to stay there overnight for a day or two, just as a precaution, but we'll make sure you're back in time for Christmas Eve. Until then, the rest of you get your sleep."

And with that final word, Uncle Ron Apparated away with my Dad, who looked mildly impressed.

Rose wrapped her arms around Scorpius, and I did the same from his other side, whilst Aunt Hermione moved closer and put her arms around the three of us. "You can sleep down here tonight after we've cleaned you up, Scorpius, with Rose and Albus," she said, hugging the three of us closely as we wiped our tears from our eyes. "Ron and I will find somewhere else to sleep. Don't worry, darling. You're part of our family now, you're safe in our hands."

I saw Scorpius' lips struggle to curl into a content smile, but saw his grey eyes shining happily. Because since he'd become friends with Rose and I, I knew all he'd wanted was to be part of a real family.


	6. First Year: Christmas with the Weasleys

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

* * *

_AN: I would love to reply to all the reviews I've received in the past 2/3 years since I've updated but I have a feeling it would be a chapter within itself! So firstly I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who's taken the time to review anything I've ever written._

_I'd like to apologise for not updated in so long, it's a bit ridiculous how long actually. It's easier to start at the beginning: 2/3 years ago I was diagnosed with something which changed my life, and I kept meaning to return, but with everything going on in my life it was really hard and I just wanted to focus on myself for a while. And even though my life will be very very busy over the next year (applying to universities is so hard!), I will gradually be starting to update all my fanfictions again because I do miss writing and I still have so many ideas and plots written out. Hopefully you can all support this decision and be patient with me!_

_If you were a reader of this fanfiction before I disappeared, I'd still recommend going back and reading, because I've added quite a lot here and there. It's funny how critical I am now of my writing 2/3 years ago._

_This is the first new chapter, so please read and review!_

_**Further disclaimer: I do not own the song Rocking Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee or the more traditional Christmas carol – Silent Night. **_

_**Italics**_** is singing.**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Christmas with the Weasleys (Part One)**

(Scorpius POV)

"Scor!"

I beamed at one of my best friends as she answered the front door of the Burrow, throwing her arms around me, her brown eyes sparkling. She was wearing a pale blue onesie, with white snowflakes across it, her long, red hair tied up in a ponytail, which swished side to side as she moved.

She pulled away and stepped aside, letting her father and I enter the Burrow after stepping up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. I couldn't help but smile as the warmth of the room washed over me, and I pulled the jumper Ron had given me over my head and handed it back to him. I'd spent the past two days in St Mungo's as the assessed me for mental and physical damage, and he'd dropped by a lot, just to check I was okay, explaining that Rose and Albus had wanted to come, but the Healers had put a no-underage visitors sign on his door. But I'd been discharged, and there were only a few minutes before it was officially Christmas. And yes, I was excited for what I hoped would be the first of many Christmases with the Weasley family.

Rose skipped over to the living room, pulling me along by my hand, and chattering excitedly to her father. "Decorating the tree when there are twenty nine of you fighting to put the ornaments on was a struggle. To no surprise, everyone's favourite had been the tiny little snitch, though there was chaos when Lily let go of it and we all had to run around after it before Ruby got her hands on it and tried to eat it."

"Scorpius!"  
"Malfoy!"  
"You're back!"

"Not looking too bad after time in St Mungo's!"  
"You look better already!"

The rest of the Weasley family sat in the living room, beams on all of their faces as Rose tugged me into the room. Their grandma, Molly Weasley, was sat on the floor directly in front of the Christmas tree and all the presents, her knitting needles and fresh ball of wool on her lap. Sat beside her was little Ruby, her red curls ruffled as she leaned on her Grandma's side, her tiny body, clad in a tiny white fluffy dressing gown over her pink pyjamas, curled up. Lily Luna, Al's little sister, in a pale yellow nightgown, sat on the other side of their grandma, her ginger hair falling to her shoulders, chatting to Hugo next to her, who wore bright orange Chudley Cannons pyjamas.

Sat on one sofa were the older Weasley cousins: Victoire looked hopelessly elegant in a light pink babydoll nightgown, sat on the lap of her fiancée Teddy, who was wearing a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms and a thin white t-shirt, whilst Molly and Lucy next to them, wearing navy dressing gowns. Dominique sat at their feet in a ice-blue silk nightgown, her long hair tied up in some fancy updo.

Around the longer sofa, the younger cousins, the cousins I was more familiar with, seemed to form some sort of circle: James, Fred and Louis sat on the sofa, the three of them wearing different coloured tracksuit bottoms and knitted jumpers; there was a space in between them, that I knew was reserved for Rose, who they were all particularly fond of, despite being a year above her at school. According to Albus it had always been that way, and she was the cousin that everyone tended to confide in and come to for advice, and I didn't blame them. I was just fortunate to have Rose constantly by my side, so I didn't have to come to her.

In front of them sat Albus, my other best friend, wearing similar attire to his older brother, and Roxy, wearing an oversized Puddlemere United top (Albus had said she was the only family member to support them), waved and beckoned me over. The other adults: their Grandpa Arthur and the remaining Weasley uncles and aunts, alongside my great-aunt Andromeda, Teddy's legal guardian, sat and stood around the kitchen table all dressed in a variety of different-patterned dressing gowns over their pyjamas.

I couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of me: the entire Weasley family gathered in the comfy living room and kitchen of the Burrow, the large Christmas tree which was completely covered with ornaments, the huge pile of presents that lay under the tree, the lightly-scented candles and lined around the room the only source of light. It looked like a Muggle postcard, of the perfect depiction of Christmas. This was what a true Christmas was, and this was the first time I was experiencing one: being surrounded by friends and family, a room full of people who cared about you, I didn't know all of the Weasley relatives well, but I already knew I was more accepted in their family than in my own.

"Come sit in my seat, Scor," Rose said, walking me over to the longer sofa, where the younger cousins nodded at my arrival. I lowered myself slowly onto the brown sofa, and Rose sat down on the floor, smiling up at me, her dimples prominent in her cheeks. As soon as I'd sat down, everyone broke out into their own individual conversations once again, Ron crossed the room and stood behind Hermione, sat around the kitchen table, planting a chaste kiss on her lips before joining in with the conversation they were having over there. Fred put an arm around the back of the sofa, and looked up at the top of my head, which had been bandaged under my hair. "How are you, Malfoy? Not in anymore pain, are you?"

I shook my head, trying not to wince at the mild pain that shot through my body at even the slightest of movements. "Doctors at St Mungo's gave me medication to deal with the pain, I have to take them for a week or two, after every meal. But I'll be fine sure enough, I hope I can take this bloody bandage off before we go back to school." Fred nodded understandingly, and patted me lightly on the back, gesturing to our surroundings. "Anyway, so what do you think of the décor? Don't think we did too badly this year."

"It's brilliant. Does it always look like this?"

"More or less," Louis drawled from the other side of Fred, running his hands through his silvery-blonde hair. "We always gather like this on Christmas Eve, counting down to midnight, then we open the presents under the tree – the presents from the uncles and aunts. We don't open the presents from the rest of our cousins until tomorrow morning." Albus laughed, nodding over at Lily, Hugo and Ruby by the tree. "That used to be us. We didn't hug anyone, or wish anyone else 'Merry Christmas', we'd just sit by the tree and pounce."

"Mum stopped that about five years ago though," James said, chuckling over at the sight of his mother, who was looking at the clock, counting down the minutes until midnight. "Aunt Hermione grabs a present at random now, and hands them out one by one. Slower that way, but stops less fights breaking out." He smirked as he lightly pulled on Rose's ponytail, and leaned across Fred and I to nudge Louis with his foot. "Who could forget the year Louis accidentally grabbed one of Rose's presents and she bit him for ruining the surprise?"

"James!" Rose groaned, burying her head in her hands as the rest of us burst out into laughter. She pulled away slightly, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, and she feebly kicked Albus' older brother. "I thought we'd all chosen to forget about that! It was one year, and I was three! What did you expect me to do? I was furious – I'd waited so long for my own copy of The Tales of Beetle the Bard and he'd only gone and damaged the corners while he was unwrapping it!"

"It's just so typical, isn't it?"  
"What is?"  
"That Rosie got angry because someone took one of her books."

"You have _no_ idea. She practically hexed me when I took her diary last week."  
"Rose –"

"Nymphadora –"

"Weasley –"  
"Keeps –"

"A –"

"Diary?!"

I couldn't help but laugh myself as Rose's cheeks burned an even brighter red, her neck turning a similar colour. "I hate you, Albus," she groaned, though I could tell she was struggling not to laugh. I turned to Albus in surprise and he just laughed; he hadn't told me Rose kept a diary, and I genuinely hadn't thought it of her. "You realise, Rose," Fred chuckled, smirking at his younger cousin's clear embarrassment. "That our sole purpose in life will now be to find that diary and read it cover to cover." He winked at me, and nudged my side jokingly. "Might even recruit our pal Malfoy here to find it for us."

Rose opened her mouth to yell, either at Fred, or Albus and I, for our clear amusement, but Aunt Ginny stood up and beat her to it. "THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL CHRISTMAS, KIDS," she declared loudly, her voice ringing through the room, causing many of her family members to flinch slightly. She turned to Rose's mum and smiled at her. "As usual, your Hermione will grab a present at random and hand it to whoever's name is on it. And now – fifteen!"

"FOURTEEN!"

"THIRTEEN!"

"TWELVE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"This is mental," I whispered, leaning forwards so Rose could hear me clearly. The countdown was deafening, as every Weasley yelled out numbers at the tops of their voices. Rose giggled in reply, clearly forgetting her frustration at me seconds earlier, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Happens every year. Wait 'til midnight, when everyone whips the mistletoe out."

"TEN!"

"NINE!"  
"EIGHT!"

As Rose had said, the elder Weasley relatives had stood up to join their partners, a sprig of mistletoe in at least one of their hands. Teddy was jokingly holding a piece over Victoire's head, and Molly, Lucy and Dominique groaned, covering their eyes at what was to happen at in a matter of seconds. The Weasley relatives I was sat with were rolling their eyes, but continued to cheer anyway.

"SEVEN!"  
"SIX!"  
"FIVE!"

"FOUR!"

"Come down here, Scor," Albus said, gently grabbing onto the bottom of the pyjama bottoms Ron had presented me with at St Mungo's and pulling me down so I was sat between Rose and him, next to Roxy. I raised my eyebrows at him, and Albus rolled his emerald eyes at me, his cheeks flushing slightly at what I'd thought he was suggesting. "Don't be a prat, Scor. I just want to be with my two best friends on Christmas day, all day. Is that too much to ask?" I shook my head and grinned at him. "Of course not, Al."

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Chaos broke out as the entire room cheered in joy, James, Fred and Louis stood up on the sofa and drew their wands, releasing confetti from the tips and high-fiving one another. Lily and Hugo were hugging little Ruby, and their Grandma Molly had put her knitting down and was wrapping her arms lovingly around her youngest grandchildren. Rose and Albus each wrapped their arms around me, and Rose leaned forwards to plant a kiss on my cheek. "Merry Christmas, Scor," she whispered, the corners of her pink lips curling up into a smile. Albus lightly bumped his head against mine and winked at me. "Merry Christmas, Scor." "Merry Christmas," I repeated, pressing my forehead against Rose's and pulling Albus nearer to my side. "Thank you both."

My two best friends smiled at me, and I looked around the rest of the room. Fred had jumped down from the sofa, and was currently hugging his twin sister closely, while Louis and James hugged, still stood above us. The adults were all kissing their partners under the mistletoe, and on the other sofa, Victoire and Teddy were currently in the process of a steamy-looking make out session. The next five minutes were spent, slowly making my way around the room, as did the other Weasley cousins, as we greeted everyone else in the room 'Merry Christmas.' After we'd greeted every other person in the room, Hermione made her way to the tree and began to call out.

"Fred Weasley, a present from Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill."

* * *

"Sing for us, Rose!"  
"Yeah, Rosie, sing!"

"Any song!"  
"No, the song you started with last year!"

"Yes, something about a Christmas tree!"

"And mistletoe!"

I raised my eyebrows at Albus in confusion, and my dark-haired friend chuckled lightly. "Rose is an amazing singer. Every Christmas, the family get her to sing for us for a bit, while Hugo plays the piano. It puts everyone in the best mood," he said softly, as the rest of the Weasley brood persisted in their encouragement for Rose to stand up and sing. I nudged Rose, who was still sat next to me, her pile of opened presents in front of her as she munched on a Chocolate Frog. "Come on, Rose. I want to hear you sing."

Rose flushed slightly, but as I reached over and squeezed her hand encouragingly, she sighed and rose to her feet, at the applause and cheers of us sat around her, and Hugo got up and crossed the room, sitting on the stool of a piano I hadn't even noticed was there. As if sensing Rose's discomfort, Ruby toddled over to her older cousin, sticking a chubby palm out for Rose to hold. Rose accepted gratefully, and clutched the hand of her youngest cousin, and looking down at the floor, nodding at her little brother as she opened her mouth and began to sing.

"_Rocking around the Christmas Tree,  
at the Christmas party hop.  
Mistletoe hung where you can see  
Every couple tries to stop." _

I felt my mouth part in shock, goosebumps breaking out across my pale skin, as Rose's voice rang through the room. Her family beamed proudly, Ron and Hermione looking particularly proud of their two children, swaying along to the catchy beat of the song. "Aunt Hermione had them both take piano lessons when they were younger," Roxy murmured as a sort of explanation. "Rose had more, so she's better, but she feels a lot better with Hugo performing with her."

I just stood staring at my best friend in shock, completely overwhelmed by this new information I'd learned; clearly Rose was modest about her musical abilities, I'd never heard her sing before in my life, but now I'd heard her voice, I wanted her to sing every second of the day. As she continued to sing, I couldn't even begin to compare her to any singer: she could sing huskily, she could sing angelically, and she had an extremely wide vocal range. Rose got more into the song as she continued to sing, looking up and swaying along to the music herself, Ruby imitating her as she mouthed the words.

"_Rocking around the Christmas Tree,  
Let the Christmas Spirit ring.  
Later we'll have some pumpkin pie,  
and we'll do some carolling._

_You will get a sentimental feeling… when you hear… voices singing_  
_"Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly."_

_Rocking around the Christmas Tree,  
Have a happy holiday.  
Everyone's dancing merrily in a new, old fashioned way."_

Many of the Weasleys were now on their feet, grabbing a partner and attempting some sort of swing-dance to Rose's singing. Fred and Louis danced together, whilst the Potter brothers shrugged and grabbed one another, mouthing the words themselves as they danced along. Lily and Dominique simply gripped one another's hands, swinging one another in circles around the room. I held out a hand to Roxy, and she giggled and jumped to her feet, pulling me closer and playfully dancing with me. Rose grinned at the sight of us, her golden-brown eyes sparkling with happiness as she picked Ruby up and began swinging her around the room in time to her singing.

"_Rocking around the Christmas Tree,  
Let the Christmas Spirit ring.  
Later we'll have some pumpkin pie,  
and we'll do some carolling._

_You will get a sentimental feeling… when you hear… voices singing_  
_"Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly"_  
_Rocking around the Christmas Tree,_  
_Have a happy holiday._  
_Everyone's dancing merrily in a new, old fashioned way!"_

The room broke into thunderous applause as Rose finished singing, and I heard my own cheers, louder than all others in the room. I made my way over to Rose and threw my arms around her neck, pulling her close to me in a hug. "Bloody brilliant, that was! I didn't know you could sing!" "I didn't really want to tell people at school!" she attempted to yell over the cheers, leaning her head next to mine. "Don't want to get roped into an impromptu performance. My stage fright is awful." I chuckled, shaking my head at her modesty. "There's no reason for it to be, Rose. You're amazing."

"And now, children!" Grandma Molly boomed, silencing the room effortlessly. Her temper was supposedly ten times worse than any of the other Weasley women, and I'm sure her family members were terrified of her screaming at them. "I think it's time to go to bed!"

"Nana Molly!"

"Grandma, not yet!"  
"Please – I want to hear Rosie sing again!"

"Nana!"

Grandma Molly's face softened as Ruby clung to Rose's leg, looking determined not to be moved, and she looked up at Rose, as if asking for some sort of solution. Rose bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, before nodding and looking down at her little cousin. "I'll sing one more song, but after that _everyone_ has to go to bed." Hugo raised his fingers, ready to sing again, but Rose shook her head at him. "Hugo, you just sit down over there with Lily, I don't need the piano for this one."

Hugo did as she told him to do, and from across the room, Albus and I exchanged confused glances, wondering where Rose was going with this. "You heard your cousin Rose!" Grandma Molly said, clapping her hands together and gesturing at the rest of the cousins and me. "Everyone, sit. Make yourself comfortable." I guessed by the twinkle in her eye that Rose's Grandma knew what her granddaughter was up to, but I simply obliged, sitting down on the floor next to Albus, Fred, James, Louis and Roxy.

Rose smiled, sitting down on the floor herself, Ruby curled up beside her and began to sing a gentle tune, completely different to the one she'd just sang.

"_Silent night, holy night,  
All is calm and all is bright.  
Round yon virgin mother and child  
Holy infant so tender and mild  
Sleep in heavenly peace  
Sleep in heavenly peace."_

Now, I could see where Rose was going. Over by the tree, I could see Hugo and Lily leaning against one another, sat beside one another, both their eyes shut as they drifted off to sleep, and Ruby had fallen asleep too, her fingers curled around Rose's pinky. With a wave of her wand, Grandma Molly gently moved her two grandchildren over by the tree, so they were lying flat on their backs, and with another wave of her wand, she'd covered them with a fleece blanket. Alina Weasley, Ruby's Romanian mother, did the same; flicking her wand so a smaller fleece blanket covered her daughter.

_"Silent night, holy night,  
Shepherds quake at the sight.  
Glories stream from Heaven afar,  
Heavenly hosts sing halleluia.  
Christ the savior is born  
Christ our savior is born."_

To my surprise, I could see some of the older cousins falling asleep too, clearly worn out. Albus, James and Louis had fallen asleep around me, and so had Molly, Lucy and Dominique. To my right, Roxy's eyes were slowly flickering shut, and her twin brother's eyes snapped shut seconds before hers did. I felt overwhelming exhaustion consume my body, and felt my own eyes beginning to shut.

_"Silent night, holy night,  
Son of God,  
Love's pure light.  
Radiant beams from thy holy face,  
With the dawn of redeeming grace.  
Jesus Lord at thy birth  
Jesus Lord at thy birth."_


	7. First Year: Family

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Family (Part Two)**

"Rise and shine, _Princess Scorpius_," I heard Albus teasingly say, shoving my side with his hand. I groaned and sat up, my eyes widening in shock as I saw majority of the Weasley cousins kneeling around me, all their eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Albus Severus Potter, what is going on?"

"What would make you think something's going on?"  
"There's nothing going on, Princess Malfoy."  
"Has anyone ever told you how _beautiful_, you look in the morning?"  
"Thanks Weas – Roxy? I guess?"  
"I guess beauty sleep really works on you, Malfoy."

"Oh Merlin," Rose said, as she walked into the living room from the garden, carrying Ruby. Rose was wearing her dark green Weasley jumper, with a silver R stitched in the middle, and a pair of skinny jeans and UGG boots, which were currently soaked from the snow outside. Ruby was wearing an almost identical outfit, except her Weasley jumper was white with a red R, and her jeans were drenched, a sure sign she'd been rolling about in it outside. "Guys, I told you to leave him alone while he slept."

Ron walked into the room after Rose and Ruby, clothed in a maroon Weasley jumper with a large navy R in the middle, jeans, trainers and a beanie pulled over his head, and chuckled at the sight of me. He pointed an accusing finger at his nieces and nephews surrounding me, all who broke out into peals of laughter. At the sight of my confused face, he got a mirror from the mantelpiece and held it in front of my face. I almost fainted at what was staring back at me in the reflection of the mirror.

It looked like the Weasley cousins had taken some amusement in trying out a few beauty charms on me while I'd been fast asleep, and the fact that my medication had made me incredibly drowsy can't have helped. I now had a full face of make up plastered on my face: my eyelids were painted hot pink, my eyelashes were longer, thicker and darker and my cheeks matched my now-parted scarlet lips. Ron took pity on me, and pulled his wand from his pocket, but Rose shook her head. "Wait, Dad, let me get a picture!"

She ran over to the kitchen table, grabbing a camera off it and struggling to hold Ruby at the same time. But she managed to take a picture, with me pulling a faux-horrified face, surrounded by the laughing younger Weasley cousins, and as soon as she'd nodded at her father, Ron shook his head and tried not to laugh, mumbling a spell under his breath and cleaning my face. "Thanks, Mr Weasley," I said, smiling gratefully at him and he nodded at me, his own lips curled into a smile.

Everyone had found it odd how out of the older members of the Weasley family, I'd ended up closer to Rose's father over the past few days. Weird, I know, considering he'd warned Rose against becoming friends with me at the beginning of the year. I was surprised too, but he'd been more like a father to me over the past few days than my father had been in my entire life; he'd checked on me at least three times a day when I'd been in St Mungo's, bringing me things to entertain myself with, providing me with changes of clothes that had originally been some of his old stuff, but then yesterday he'd presented me with a bag of new clothes. I don't know why I'd been so scared of meeting him before.

"PRESENT TIME!"

I turned and saw Dominique, Lucy and Molly Weasley thundering down the stairs, followed by Victoire and Teddy, each of them levitating a sack of presents in front of them. Looking around the room, I saw the rest of the Weasley clan's presents under the tree and flushed guiltily. "Um, sorry… I only bought presents for Rose and Albus," I said apologetically, biting my bottom lip as the rest of the Weasley family crowded in the room once again, all dressed in jeans and their Weasley jumpers. "I didn't know I was going to be here and –"

"Chill, Malfoy," Fred chuckled, pulling my navy blue Weasley jumper with a white S in the middle of it over my head, being careful not to touch the bandage on my head when he was doing so. As I shoved my arms through it, he grinned at me. "We all get it. Plus, we've gotten you presents anyway. We wanted you to experience a true Weasley Christmas. Presents, roast dinner and all."

Looking around at the familiar scene, of everyone gathered in the small room, I couldn't help but smile once again. Everyone in the room wore a thick jumper which had been personally knitted by Molly Weasley; it was like the jumpers joined us together, established the familial bond that tied the Weasleys together.

And being a part of that was the best feeling in the world.

* * *

"Come on, Ruby, say it, how I taught you!"  
"Sc – sc –"

"Rose, she's never gonna be able to say it. Same way she'll never be able to say Nymphadora or Andromeda. Just shorten it, like Nana Andy."

"Can you say, Scorpy, Ruby?"

"Merlin, don't tell her to call me Scorpy!"

"Scorpius, can we have a word?" Albus' Dad, Harry asked, squeezing my shoulder gently as he stood behind me on the sofa. It was nearing the end of Christmas Day; we'd unwrapped all the presents and played with some of the new things we had, we'd just eaten a massive roast dinner, and now Ruby was sat on my lap, as Rose and the others attempted to teach her to say my name.

"Um, yeah, sure," I said, planting a kiss on the top of Ruby's head before passing her to Rose and standing up and coming into the hallway to talk to Harry, seeing Rose's parents sat waiting on the stairs. "You alright, Scorpius?" Ron said, smiling at me. This smile seemed a bit more forced than the smiles I was used to from him, but I smiled back nonetheless. "Good, thanks, Mr Weasley. Thank you guys for letting me spend Christmas with you all."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Scorpius," he said, chuckling slightly. "Mr Weasley is my Dad, Rose and Albus' Grandpa Arthur. You can just call me Ron. And, the reason we called you out here is because we have something to tell you… about your grandfather." I nodded; shifting nervously and Hermione stepped forward and wrapped a supportive arm around my shoulder, bending down to my eye-level. "It's nothing to worry about, Scorpius. It's just to warn you so you're not surprised when it comes in the papers when you get back to school."

"Lucius is going to be put on trial for the next year," Harry explained, his lips pressed together in a grim line. "It's gonna be an intense case, because of his involvement in the war, but also because he built up a respectable profile in the Ministry even after it. And because of those circumstances, you're welcome to stay at the Burrow and at my house for the next year." I blinked in shock at this new knowledge and Harry sighed, running a hand through his jet-black hair. "Ginny and I will buy another bed to put in Albus' room, we took your trunk and lots from your wardrobe, so if things turn out the way we hope, you may never have to go back to the Manor again.

I felt my lips curl upwards into a massive grin at the news; I could spend as much time as I wanted with my best friends now I was living with them for the next year. Who would've thought the boy I loathed initially upon our arrival to Hogwarts would end up my roommate, both in school and during the holidays? Seeing the look on my face, Harry smiled himself, clearly happy with my reaction. "Thank you, Harry. And Ron and Hermione… I can't say thank you enough for being willing to take me in for the next year."

They all shrugged it off, as if it was no big deal, but I could tell by the sparkle in their eyes that my words meant a lot to all of them. "We are unsure of how you arrived at the Burrow though," Ron said, scrunching up his nose. "Not that we mind, it was clearly for the best, but do you have any recollection of how you got here? Did you get the Knight Bus? Or fly a broom?" I shook my head; it was something I'd been wondering myself, the last thing I remembered was being slammed against the wall by my Grandfather, before waves of unbearable pain washed over my body continuously. Harry pursed his lips and scratched the side of his head thoughtfully. "Maybe he Apparated, in the heat of the moment. Like, got so scared that he just wanted to get away and get to Rose and Albus."

"That wouldn't have been possible," Hermione said, ever the logical member of the Golden Trio, as I'd heard she was; she reminded me so much of Rose in that sense. "Not only is it highly unlikely, because of his age and magical ability, but it wouldn't have been possible due to the weak state he was in when he arrived. There was a loud noise at the door of the Burrow when you arrived, Scorpius, but I have no idea what it was. Maybe you could have Apparated somehow… if your desire to escape your grandfather fuelled it, but we won't really know until the trial, I guess."

And I dismissed the thought from my mind; for a year I was free from the people I'd feared my entire life, the people who were related to me by blood but had no actual attachment to me whatsoever.

I couldn't even explain how good that felt.

* * *

"Oh Merlin," Albus said, sat next to me, burying his head in his hands. I nudged him with my elbow and I looked up at me, shaking his head in disbelief. "Victoire's got the wedding book out."

I hadn't even noticed Victoire bring out a large, quilted white book, with a sky-blue ribbon tied around it, holding all the stray pieces of paper I could see popping out of it in place. I'd heard about Victoire's wedding book from all the female cousins, but I hadn't realised how much effort she was putting into organising her wedding, whilst in the most difficult year of her life at school.

At the sight of the quilted book, all the female cousins, Rose and Roxy included, jumped up and ran towards Victoire, sitting around her in a circle. Meanwhile, Fred, James, Louis and Albus groaned, clearly not as impressed. I'd never been to a wedding myself, but I thought Victoire had every right to be excited about her wedding; it was undoubtedly going to be one of the biggest days of a person's life, promising yourself to someone for the rest of your life. It was such a huge concept, I couldn't even imagine being at that stage in my life.

"I'm so excited to hear Rose sing at the wedding though," Fred said, smiling at the sight of his cousin who sat next to Victoire, beaming as she pointed at different flower arrangements in the book. "Ted, what song is Rose singing?" he asked as Teddy stood up in the middle of the crowd of Weasley girls, and made his way over at us.

"I don't just think it's one song, if I'm honest," Teddy said, chuckling as he lowered himself next to him on the sofa, running a hand through his blue hair. "Rose is singing a set, before the Weird Sisters come and perform for the rest of the night, but Merlin knows what song we're having for our first dance. It's gotten to that stage of wedding planning where I just say yes to whatever she says and say that whatever she chooses will make me happy." James pulled a face and shoved him jokingly. "Merlin, Teddy. You're going soft on us. Just don't turn into one of them boring husbands once you've gone and tied the knot with our cousin. We'll still want you for nights out and stuff."

"And I'm beginning to wonder why you're my best man, James," Teddy laughed, pulling a face back at him. "Your best man's supposed to be reminding you about _why_ you want to get married before you've even hit twenty, not reminding him about why he shouldn't." "Are you beginning to regret it?" Louis asked quietly, so none of the girls could hear, and by the look in his eyes I knew he was asking more for Victoire's sake than his own curiosity. "Vic will get if you want to postpone it a few years, Ted. She's been waiting to get married to you since she was about six and you used to play weddings in my garden. Mum's been crying and showing us pictures."

Teddy's brown eyes sparkled, and his hair turned a rosy shade of pink as he looked back at his fiancée. Victoire Weasley may have been one of the most beautiful girls at school, but I knew that wasn't the only reason he loved her. Victoire was his best friend, and always had been from the stories my Grandma Narcissa had told me about her brief encounters with Teddy. "My grandma said something along the same lines," I said, clearing my throat as I spoke up, nodding at the older boy. "About how even at a young age, whenever she came to see you, Victoire was always there with you."

"I forgot you two were related," Albus said honestly, holding up his hands as I rolled my eyes at him. "What? Be honest, had the two of you even spoken properly before these holidays?" I shook my head and looked over to see Teddy doing the same and I felt a pang of sadness. Mum had near enough been disowned when she'd married my father, as he'd originally been engaged to my Aunt Daphne, therefore Teddy was the nearest thing I had to a cousin.

As if he'd read my mind, Teddy cleared his throat, shrugging at me. "Actually, Scorpius, I meant to ask you this yesterday, I just didn't know how, cos we haven't really had a chance to have a proper chat," he said, looking slightly embarrassed as he twiddled his thumbs in his lap. "Would you want to be one of my groomsmen? Like, alongside Al, Fred and Louis?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise and he scrunched his nose up at me. "I know it may seem a bit sudden, considering the fact we barely know one another, but you're the closest I have to a blood-related cousin, and it would mean a lot to me."

I felt my lips curl into a smile and nodded at Teddy, nodding my head. "Yeah, course I'd love to be one of your groomsmen, Teddy," I said, reaching out to bump his knuckle with mine. "Having a relative I actually _like_ would be great."

And thus started my close bond with Teddy Lupin, my turquoise-haired second cousin.

It was odd, how it had taken almost twelve years and a brutal attack from my grandfather to bring me a family.


	8. First Year: The Aftermath

**The Silver Trio**

**Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me**

**Chapter 8: The Aftermath**

* * *

(Rose POV)

Returning to school after the Christmas holidays, or any holidays to be honest, was always going to be hard. I loved Hogwarts, don't get me wrong, but over the Christmas holidays I'd fallen into some sort of routine.

We'd stayed at the Burrow for the two-week holiday period, and I was so used to sharing Aunt Ginny's old room with Roxy and Lily that the concept of lying in the empty first-year girls' Slytherin dormitory was odd, with Roxy in the Gryffindor Tower and Lily back home with her parents. I was used to being surrounded by my favourite people, all the time, and though us Weasleys at Hogwarts were still close, nothing could beat the time we spent together at the Burrow. I missed the daily Quidditch tournaments, where I was part of a team, threw caution to the wind and flew.

I found myself longing for next Christmas, and even sooner, the summer holidays.

The Christmas holidays with not only my family, but my two best friends, solidified our friendship. What had happened in the Malfoy Manor the night we'd come home from Hogwarts had been the first real hardship we'd faced as friends, and I know Scorpius had appreciated our entire family supporting his physical and emotional recovery.

Though he hadn't fully recovered, according to Albus; no matter what a brave front Scorpius tried to put on during the day, apparently he'd been screaming in his sleep since he arrived at the Burrow. Al had been casting the Muffliato charm on him after I'd taught him during a prank with Fred and James before Hogwarts, trying to spare the pity of our cousins, though he'd confessed he wasn't as worried it was just them sharing a room. Thank goodness Al and Scorpius were the only ones in their dormitory.

From the moment we'd walked into the Great Hall for the first time since the holidays, we'd been surrounded by sympathetic whispers and stares; secrets weren't kept well in the Wizarding World, and when the Daily Prophet had seen Dad and Uncle Harry arriving outside the Manor in the middle of the night, they'd had a field day. A few hours later, when the papers had been distributed, it was all over the front page, meaning everyone was fully aware of what was going on in his life, and despite it being about two and a half weeks since the original story was printed, the _Malfoy_ name was on everyone's lips.

"Malfoy, can we talk to you for second?"

Albus and I turned our heads to the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room, where Jono, Scott, Parker and Leo stood, grim expressions on all of their faces. Scorpius didn't even raise his blonde head, just nodding his head slightly to acknowledge he'd heard them. Albus gave me a worried look, and my feelings were near enough mutual; the boys were all from Pureblood families themselves, and we had no idea what their opinion on the matter would be, in fact, Jono's family were close with Scorpius', hence I'd made sure we'd avoided them for the past few days.

Jono sank in the armchair opposite the sofa Scorpius and I were sat on, and all the other boys slowly sat down on the carpet. Jono ran his hands through his dark hair and groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Malfoy," he said reproachfully. "I am so sorry you had to go through that." He gulped, and the other boys looked equally uncomfortable. "All those Ministry parties, and functions at the Manor… I had no idea it was that bad with you and your grandfather. I can't even imagine what it was like. My father always said Lucius was a twisted individual, but I didn't realise the extent of it. I just want you to know that whenever you need to talk, or you need a place to stay, you're welcome to come to me. Aria and I will be there for you when you need us."

"And we will too, Malfoy," Scott declared, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip, looking slightly uneasy. "We're here any time you need to talk, or just want to hang out."

Scorpius lifted his head and I wrapped an arm around his waist as I saw the tear-filled grey eyes of my best friend; this had been the first time since we'd been back to school that anyone, excluding McGonagall and Slughorn, our Head of House, had directly addressed what had happened to Scorpius. And I could tell it meant a lot to them that the four older boys had taken the time to tell him they were ready to support him instead of just gossiping about it like the rest of the student body.

"Thank you," he said shakily, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. "That means a lot."

* * *

(Albus POV)

I was surprised that it took four months into my time at Hogwarts to get my first detention.

Fred, James and Louis received their first detention minutes after they'd been sorted into Gryffindor, between the three of them they released a Basic Blaze Box of Weasley's Wildfire Whiz-Bangs, startling many of their fellow first-years. McGonagall had given them all detentions, but apparently even she couldn't help but laugh when it happened, she'd been at the school long enough to see the Marauders, the original Weasley twins and said the Weasley Trio had broken the record for the shortest time it had taken to get a detention.

Dominique had been granted her first detention within the first week; the infamous Weasley temper had been inherited by only a handful of the next generations of Weasleys, and Dominique had been one of them. Poor Kenneth Jones, a Ravenclaw in her year, hadn't even seen it coming, when he'd made a snide comment during a squabble over Quidditch teams that Victoire, Dominique's older sister, was the most attractive sibling. The poor boy had been hit with a Knee-Reversal Hex so severe he'd been in the Hospital Wing for a week, and Dominique was stuck cleaning trophies until he got out.

Both Lucy and Roxy got their detentions within the first two months of their first year at Hogwarts, after forgetting about certain essays that had to be handed in to Professor Macmillan, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who was incredibly uptight and strict, whilst Victoire and Teddy had received Victoire's first detention after being caught swimming in the Black Lake after curfew, just over two months into Victoire's first year. Even Molly, the saint of the family, had gotten her first detention just before the Christmas holidays of her first year, after being caught trying to sneak into the Restricted section of the library. The reason made every Weasley laugh, so her Uncle Percy hadn't been furious; Aunt Hermione had even seemed a little proud.

Scorpius and I had received our first detention two or three weeks after the Christmas holidays, for something that hadn't even been our fault; we'd just been stupid enough to accompany the Weasley Trio and Rose while they were pulling a prank.

It all started during the only study period we all shared, late Wednesday afternoon, when the Weasley Trio had approached us, mischievous twinkles in all of their eyes. "Wanna help us pull a prank, Rosie?" Fred had whispered across the desk we were working at, the amusement clear in his voice. I turned to my best friend and saw Rose's brown eyes twinkle at the question; she'd always helped the boys pull pranks, whether it was coming up with the ideas, or simply joining in.

"Is that even a question?" Rose giggled, twirling her quill about between her fingers. On the other side of Rose, I could see Scorpius' lips curling into a slight smile; I'd told him countless times about Rose's pranking abilities, but he was yet to witness a major one, like she used to pull back home all the time. "What did you have in mind?"

"We're not stupid, Rose Weasley," Louis said, raising a blonde eyebrow at our redheaded cousin. He leaned forwards, his pearly white teeth on show as he grinned at Rose, causing some girls near us to squeal. "Uncle George went into the stockroom of the Diagon Alley Weasley's Wizard Wheezes over the holidays, and went to the side room where him and Uncle Fred used to stock the original Weasley products." I shot a confused look at Rose, and by the twinkle in her eye, I knew she had done whatever they were accusing her of.

"Uncle George didn't notice, too emotional with the memories with him and Uncle Fred, I guess," James said, scrunching up his nose, his face growing solemn for a minute, but a few seconds later and my brother's mischievous look was back. "_But_ the three of us noticed that one of the boxes of old supplies was missing, since we went there the summer before last. And seeing as the three of _us_ hadn't stolen it, who else did we question had taken it but our favourite little redhead cousin?"

"And there was me thinking I'd gotten away with it," Rose laughed, shutting the big leather book in front of her and setting her quill down on the table. "It's not like it was _stealing_, exactly. Those products hadn't been touched for years. Dad left the keys on the counter one time, and I just Flooed to Diagon Alley, and brought the box straight up to one of the hiding places I have at my place. Packed some of it in my trunk when we came to Hogwarts, though I haven't been bothered to whip it out yet."

"Wait," Scorpius said, holding out a hand in disbelief, lowering his voice when Professor Longbottom gave him a disapproving look. "So you're telling me that you, Rose Weasley, stole from your Uncle George's original Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop, when you were _ten_?"

"Yep."

"Amazing," Scorpius chuckled, smiling broadly at our best friend. He nudged her slightly with his elbow, and turned to Fred, James and Louis. "So what are you lot thinking of doing?" "You want in, Malfoy?" Louis asked, a surprised smile on his face. I was happy that our cousins were a lot more accepting of our friendship with Scorpius, since he'd spent the holidays with us, but even Scorpius knew when something would land him in trouble. "Nah, I'm not good at stuff like that. Still want to be there when you're setting it all up though, it'll be a laugh."

"Come on, Rose, we'll see it as your initiation into extreme pranking at Hogwarts."

As everyone began clearing up their stuff, heading back to their respective common rooms before dinner, Rose grinned and turned to the Gryffindor boys.

"Challenge accepted. Meet us in the Entrance Hall, in twenty minutes. Al, Scor, come with me."

_Twenty Minutes Later..._

"Rose, this is crazy."  
"I love you, Rosie."  
"This is why you are my favourite female cousin."

"Brilliant."

"Legendary."

Scorpius and I were stood with the Weasley Trio, in the Entrance Hall, or what _had been_ the Entrance Hall, marvelling at the scene in front of us. She'd released what appeared to be some sort of portable swamp in the Entrance Hall, so the entire area was flooded with water, reaching Rose's knees. But not only had she done that, she'd used other Weasley products to make her little prank even better.

The Hogwarts Entrance Hall was located on the ground floor of Hogwarts, with a large marble staircase opposite the oak doors. The double doors to the right led to the Great Hall, whilst double doors in various other directions led to the Hufflepuff common room, the kitchens, the Slytherin Dungeons and the Grand Staircase. Behind each of the double doors, Rose had planted Creepy Crawlies, so other students would run away from them, into the Entrance Hall; she'd planted Dungbombs under the water, meaning when they got stepped on, the horrific aroma would be released. The four walls of the Entrance Hall had been completely covered with Self-Propelling Custard Pie which would fly into someone's face if they got close to it, secured with a sticking charm, which would be activated with a flick of Rose's wand, meaning there was no risk of us getting hit by them.

Rose Weasley really had outdone herself.

Rose grinned at the praise she was getting from her favourite people, giggling as she looked around at her handiwork. It had been a while since she'd gotten involved with the boys and pranking, but she'd always thought out every detail; that's what made her Uncle George's favourite niece, from an extremely young age.

Rose's eyes flicked down to the Marauders' Map, clutched in her left hand, her wand in her right, and her eyes widened as she saw something. "It's Macmillan!" she hissed, stuffing the map into the pocket of the leggings she'd pulled over her legs when she'd gone back to the Slytherin Dungeons. "RUN!"

We all exchanged looks of horror as Rose sprinted out of the Entrance Hall, running towards the lake, as she lifted her wand over her head and flicked it. James, Louis and Fred all huddled the Invisibility Cloak, leaving Scorpius and I stood there when Professor Macmillan ran in. I hadn't even spotted the banana peel Rose had left by the door, but the next thing I knew, Macmillan had slipped into the doors of the Great Hall, and was getting completely attacked by the Self-Propelling Custard Pies.

I looked at my blonde best friend and groaned as I realised what this meant. Detention, probably for the rest of the school year. And Rose had managed to get away with it.

"If the next seven years is us getting in trouble whilst your cousin gets away with it, I think we might need to work on our getaways."

I couldn't agree with him more.

* * *

(Rose POV)

I couldn't help but laugh as I continued running, my arms and legs pumping as I sprinted nearer the Black Lake, the wind blowing my long red hair back and causing goosebumps to break out across my skin, despite the thick cable-knit jumper and boots I was wearing. As I turned and saw no angry teachers running after me, I giggled in glee and curling my body and cartwheeling across the snow, ignoring the numb feeling growing in my hands.

"I knew it wouldn't be long before one of my cousins came and bothered my peace and quiet."

I turned and saw my eldest cousin Victoire, sat under a tree near where I was now stood, her pink lips curled into a smile, her blue eyes twinkling at me. She was sat on a tartan blanket, her legs curled gracefully beneath her slim figure, a notebook on her lap. "I'm sorry, Tori," I apologised, fiddling with my fingers nervously. I was Victoire's maid of honour and I was close to her, but that didn't mean I was worried about upsetting her.

"Rose, I'm only joking, don't worry! I'm happy you stopped by actually," she laughed, patting the space next to her on the blanket. As I lowered myself next to her, lolling my head against her shoulder, she exhaled heavily, a cold mist escaping her mouth as she did so. "I'm sad I'm only here for your first year, Rosie. You're actually a breath of fresh air to have around. It's nice, seeing you, Al and Scorpius around; reminds me of how carefree I used to be."

I felt my cheeks flush at the touching comment, and coughed awkwardly, choosing to change the subject as I often did when I was embarrassed. "So what are you meant to be doing right now?" I saw the knowing look in her eyes, but she shrugged her shoulders and decided to allow the change of subject. "I'm meant to be drawing up a revision timetable for her NEWTs, but I really don't want to." She scrunched up her nose and rested her head on top of mine. "It's like admitting my time at Hogwarts is almost up; I just want to go back to first year, when me and Teddy sat in this exact spot every day, no matter the weather. We would talk about absolutely everything, it didn't matter what, because we could tell each other anything."

I looked up to see my beautiful older cousin biting her lip, an anxious look in her eyes. "I'm scared about going into the real world, Rose," she confessed, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "The world outside Hogwarts seems terrifying." I wrapped my arms around her and felt her squeeze me closer to her, tears in her eyes as she eventually pulled away. "Tori, you're going to do your Healer training," I declared clearly, squeezing her hand supportively and looking up at my cousin who suddenly looked more fragile and vulnerable than I'd ever seen her. "You'll manage to do it too, Tori. You're going to be an amazing Healer, and Teddy will still be by your side, you're getting married this summer! He'll help you through it all."

"That does make me less scared," she admitted, nodding her blonde head, the lovestuck expression that always came across her face at even the mention of her fiancée's name appearing and I felt my stomach churn in jealousy, Victoire had always been so sure of who she was going to be with, who she was going to marry. "Victoire? How did you know when Teddy wasn't just your best friend anymore, he was more than that?"

She looked confused, and if I was honest, so was I. Why had I asked that question almost automatically in response to what she'd said. As she raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged, trying to control my flaming cheeks. "I'm just curious, Vic."

She seemed to accept my answer and bit her lip thoughtfully, as she thought back on her relationship with Teddy. "I guess we always knew, I mean, Teddy was the first friend I ever had, and we got even closer when we were both at Hogwarts. I was there for him through any hardships, and he was always there for me, I just got used to having him around. And as we got older and started dating other people, there was jealousy with both of us, we even got in a few fights. But we'd always make up. And then one day, one of his friends asked him if he realised we were in love and he just walked right up to me in the Great Hall and kissed me."

I nodded, taking it all in and sighing. I wanted a guy like Teddy when I was older: someone who could tell me everything, and who I could tell everything to, someone who was a constant in my life; my best friend and my boyfriend, like my parents' relationship. I grabbed the pen and notebook from my cousin and pulled them into my lap, avoiding eye contact with her. "Here, let me start drawing up a revision timetable for you. They're my speciality."


End file.
